At the beginning of April, Lionsgate announced that John Wick: Chapter 5 was officially moving forward, as was Donnie Yen’s Caine spinoff and the animated prequel detailing the story of John’s Impossible Task. But maybe a fifth John Wick movie isn’t a sure thing after all. At least, that’s the way it sounds reading director Chad Stahelski’s latest comments on the franchise right as the Ana de Armas-led spinoff Ballerina is released onto the 2025 release schedule.
Between directing all four John Wick movies, helping helm the Ballerina reshoots (albeit uncredited) and, most importantly, having creative oversight on the entire franchise, it goes without saying that Stahelski is the person who’s best attuned to this world anchored by Keanu Reeves’ badass assassin. That’s why I was puzzled when he said the following to THR in the midst of discussing why it was important that John Wick: Chapter 4 didn’t end on a cliffhanger:
If we go down the road of John Wick 5 and build this story and decide this isn’t right, there are probably going to be 10 other things we’ll discover that we’ll use for other things. It’s a great creative exercise. It’s being in the room riffing with people we love. That’s nothing but wins.
On the off chance there are a few of you who’ve made it this far, but don’t know what Chad Stahelski’s talking about, John Wick: Chapter 4 ended with the implication that Keanu Reeves’ title character died from the injuries he sustained in that movie, particularly being shot by Caine. Ian McShane’s Winston and Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King were seen standing near a gravestone with his name on it and bidding farewell to their friend. That seems like a pretty cut and dry way to end this saga, right?
Evidently not since Lionsgate wants to keep the main John Wick film series going, but despite what the studio announced, it sounds like Chad Stahelski isn’t quite as certain. To be sure, he did say earlier in the THR profile that he and writer Mike Finch have a “pretty good story” for John Wick: Chapter 5 that he thinks is “cool.” Once they have a “50-page book,” then they’ll meet with Keanu Reeves and further refine whatever this story is. But when asked for clarification about if Chapter 5 is “not a lock,” Stahelski responded:
The studio would very much will it into existence, I’m sure, at some point. Look, they’ve been great and they’ve asked us to really try and we have a really good couple of ideas and we’re going to try.
Considering that John Wick: Chapter 4 earned positive critical reception like its predecessors and made over $447 million worldwide, I don’t blame Lionsgate for wanting for wanting to keep that money train going. But at the same time, I worry that John Wick: Chapter 5 in whatever form it comes in will end up ruining what was truly a powerful ending. At least Chad Stahelski made it clear he and Mike Finch, and soon Keanu Reeves, aren’t taking a fifth movie lightly and putting in the effort to making sure the story is something worthwhile.
Once John Wick: Chapter 5 gets a release date, then I’ll be more inclined to think that this project is actually happening. Until then, feel free to CinemaBlend’s Ballerina review, whether you’ve already seen the spinoff or plan to catch it at your local theater.
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