Earlier this week, Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix 4 was officially given a release date from Warner Bros. for May 21, 2021. Whoa, but funny enough another one of Keanu Reeves’ highly-anticipated movies Lionsgate's John Wick: Chapter 4 is expected to hit theaters on the exact same day. Is a Keanu v. Keanu showdown coming our way in a couple summers?
Fans were quick to propose the date become a national holiday. We are living in the Keanussance – why not have a day set aside to celebrate the icon over a hundred-thousand people wanted to call Time’s Person of the Year. No hard feelings, Greta Thunberg! The love for the 55-year-old actor seems to be at such an all time high that many might opt to buy a ticket to both movies! But, will the two studios really stand their ground. Will Keanu Day really happen?
Chances are, John Wick: Chapter 4 decides to adjust its date. A couple of weeks ago, it was reported that a script for the fourth installment in the assassin action franchise had yet to be crafted, and Keanu Reeves was experiencing some scheduling issues between the three franchises he’s currently juggling.
The John Wick 4 release date was set back in May, following the $326 million global gross of the third film in spring. But studios announce release dates and alter them all the time. If Lionsgate isn’t where it wants to be with the next John Wick, and the return of Matrix poses any threat to its success, "Keanu Reeves Day" could cease to exist.
Matrix 4 certainly seems to be moving along much quicker than John Wick 4. Keanu Reeves has already read Lana Wachowski “ambitious” script and a cast has started to be assembled -- including Carrie-Anne Moss and Jada Pinkett Smith returning to their roles of Trinity and Niobe; and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, and Frozen’s Jonathan Groff added to the film’s cast.
Considering Matrix and John Wick share the same audiences, it would be out of the ordinary if the studios stuck with the date. At one time, Captain America: Civil War and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice shared the same release date, before one was altered to another day on the calendar.
Along with Keanu Reeves’ return to these action franchise, next summer will be big on Keanu Reeves. He’ll play a tumbleweed (yes, literally a tumbleweed) in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run coming May 22, 2020 and star in Bill & Ted Face the Music on August 21, 2020.
No matter what happens with the release dates of Matrix 4 and John Wick 4, I think Keanu Reeves is due a national holiday by now… don’t you?
