Lionsgate made their big announcement at this year's CinemaCon. The studio has officially announced a fifth instalment in the John Wick movie franchise. Keanu Reeves will reprise his role. Director Chad Stahelski, who directed the previous instalments, is returning too.
Considering what happened at the end of the fourth film, the news has left many fans wondering how Reeves will return. But since Stahelski left the ending open to interpretation, one assumes that the team found a way to bring the beloved fictitious assassin back.
Reeves and Stahelski are also attached to the project as producers alongside Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee of the studio Thunder Road.
"Keanu, Chad, Basil and Erica would not return unless they had something truly phenomenal and fresh to say with these characters and this world. We can't wait for audiences to see where the journey takes us next," said Lionsgate representative Adam Fogelson in a statement.
Echoing the above statement, Iwanyk and Erica added that "it's important to get this story right and give John's story the proper next step. It's exciting to take the first step on that road."
The studio also announced that there will be a John Wick spin-off film based on the Caine character played by Donnie Yen in the last instalment. Interestingly, Yen is on board to direct it as well.
Mattson Tomlin, who did uncredited writing work on Matt Reeves' The Batman (2022) and is writing its sequel, The Batman: Part II, is working on the Caine movie script.
It must be noted that another John Wick spin-off, Ballerina, will have Reeves making a cameo. The recently unveiled trailer of the Ana de Armas-starrer confirmed Reeves' presence.
Additionally, an animated prequel film on John Wick, voiced by Reeves, is also in the offing. Filmmaker Shannon Tindle, known for Kubo and the Two Strings and Ultraman: Rising, is helming it from a script by the Oscar-nominated Vanessa Taylor, who penned Guillermo del Toro's Oscar-winning The Shape of Water.
