While John Wick: Chapter 4 is smashing box office sales and Lionsgate really wants to make John Wick 5, its director and star aren’t totally on board yet.
Director Chad Stahelski previously teased a meeting with star Keanu Reeves when the film finally makes its debut in Japan, this fall. The meeting will apparently be held in the iconic Imperial Hotel Scotch Bar, in Tokyo.
“In our minds, Keanu and I are done for the moment. We’re going to give John Wick a rest,” Chad previously said. “I’m sure the studio has a plan. If everyone loves it and it goes kooky, then we’ll take a quiet minute. Wicks always, for some weird reason, always get the latest release date in Japan.”
He added, “It’s always like, three months later. If it’s the same this time, we’ll do a Japanese tour and release the movie in September. Keanu and I will take the long trip to Tokyo, we’ll sit in the Imperial Hotel Scotch Bar and go, “What do you think?” We’ll have a couple 20-year-old whiskies and write some ideas on napkins. If those ideas stick, maybe we’ll make a movie.”
Now, the director changed up his response on the possibility of a fifth film, hinting more towards the decision truly being up in the air.
“It’s very flattering for them to come back and, you know, say ‘We want more’ and it’s not just a cash grab. It’s legitimately the audience wants more,” Chad said to Hollywood Reporter. “I think we all need that little bit of time to go, ‘Whew. Let’s see what’s next.’ … If Keanu and I, a few months from now sit down at a whiskey bar in Japan again and go, ‘Yep, we’ll never do another one of those,’ and then all of a sudden go, ‘Yeah, but I got an idea,’ we’re open to it.”
Stahelski’s thoughts line up with franchise producer Basil Iwanyk, who was more firm in keeping the John Wick train rolling.
“Just on a personal level, we can’t break up the band yet,” Iwanyk said to IndieWire. “If the movie does really well, and people love it, and if there’s a germ of idea, we’ll entertain it. We’re so far away from that. I’m not saying there will be a sequel by any stretch, but if there is a world where we can find a story, we’ll explore that.”
The very first John Wick spinoff – Ballerina – was recently confirmed to be premiering next summer. It stars Ana de Armas as yet another trained assassin, from the Russian crime family. The Peacock spinoff series The Continental was also just unveiled.
In case you missed it – find our thorough and spoiler-free review for John Wick: Chapter 4 here – it’s certainly the sequel fans deserved and wraps up John’s story nicely.
This is Niche Culture. In this column, we regularly cover anime, geek culture, and things related to video games.
