It should absolutely come as no surprise that Lionsgate, the studio behind the John Wick franchise starring Keanu Reeves as the titular hitman, has officially begun making plans for John Wick 5.
Joe Drake, the chair of Lionsgate’s motion picture group, confirmed the news in an earnings call just days ago, and there are so many reasons this makes sense. For one thing, the studio handily beat earnings and revenue expectations for the first quarter of the year, with the success of John Wick: Chapter 4 largely to thank for that. In the company’s film business, profits were up almost 50% during the quarter, while the 4-movie John Wick franchise itself has now passed the $1 billion mark at the global box office.
John Wick 4 hit theaters two months ago, and as far as where things stand with a fifth installment — there’s nothing concrete to report yet, other than the studio saying that it wants to make it. Talks have begun, in other words, and that’s where things stand for now.
Still, that development alone is welcome news for fans of the action-packed and gunplay-heavy thrillers starring Reeves as a hitman who, way back in the first movie, had retired and married the love of his life. After she dies, and while Wick is still in mourning, thugs kill the dog that Wick’s wife had given him in addition to stealing his car — unleashing the killing machine inside him that Wick had tried to put away.
And Drake’s comments underscore that there’s still so much more of that story to come, including a spinoff movie, sequel #5, and a TV series for Peacock titled The Continental (which you can read more about at the link below). “Ballerina is the first spin-off that comes out next year,” he said. “We’re in development on three others, including 5 and including television series The Continental, (which) will be airing soon … you can rely on a regular cadence of John Wick.”
In Ballerina, Ana de Armas will star in the lead role as a hitwoman.
Furthermore, we’re probably getting another John Wick video game, too. Lionsgate, which said in recent months that it thinks “there is a big AAA game to be made out of John Wick,” has begun to receive proposals for just such a game. Per Drake, “As it relates to the video game, we are continuing to have those conversations. There’s a ton of energy around it.”
