Chapter 4’s Performance May Bring An Unplanned Chapter 5 To Life

I finally watched John Wick: Chapter 4 yesterday after realizing that it was going to be a must-see in theaters, and I simply couldn’t wait for it to come to streaming. Everyone was right, it very much was worth the trip, and yes, it is easily the best of the John Wick films, all of which were great in their own ways.

While I would not expect the fourth movie in a franchise like John Wick to be its best, here we are, and now questions remain about the “John Wick universe,” which in this day and age of IP franchising, of course is something that exists.

But to get deeper into this conversation, I have to throw up a spoiler warning for John Wick: Chapter 4. One very specific spoiler, which if you’ve seen it, you know what I’m talking about.

I am of course talking about the apparent death of John Wick, who bleeds out after a duel at the end of the film with his former friend, but not before exacting his revenge on the Marquis. Also before that he fell down 200 stone stairs at least twice, so I’m that wasn’t doing him any favors.

Of course, this is a movie, and there are plenty of theories that John Wick is not dead, and his friends only pretended to bury him so he could go live a peaceful, off-the-grid life somewhere without anyone trying to seek out the world’s most unkillable assassin. I mean there are probably like 500 henchman families that want to get revenge on him, even if the High Table has cleared him. But regardless, it very much feels like John Wick’s story is over.

The question now is whether John Wick as a series can or should continue without him.

This is already happening in two significant ways. There is a John Wick series, The Continental, coming to Peacock which will actually be a prequel about the New York hotel in the ‘70s, starring a young Winston and Charon, building on the world of John Wick without actually starring the man himself. Last we heard it was only supposed to be three, 90 minute episodes, so pretty unlike a traditional TV series.

We also have Ballerina, the spin-off starring Ana de Armas, where Reeves will appear, pre-death, as will Ian McShane and Lance Reddick, reprising their roles (Reddick recently tragically passed away in real life, in addition to his character’s death in Chapter 4).

As for future John Wick chapters, after seeing Rina Sawayama’s performance in Chapter 5, and her end-credits teaser implying she still has more scores to settle (not just against Caine, but probably the entire Table who sanctioned the slaughter of her hotel and her father), I would absolutely watch a movie with her leading it.

But I think the real question here is the director, Chad Stahelski, the stuntman-turned-the-reason-the-John-Wick-movies-are-so-good. He’s done all four movies, and I think he, not Keanu Reeves, is the key to the entire franchise. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Reeves and what he’s done in this role, but if the “universe” must live on, I think it’s Stahelski that’s the key to any future project working. The problem? He has currently 11 different projects listed on IMDB where he’s director, including the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima adaptation for Sony, so he’s uh, a bit busy.

Regardless, given John Wick: Chapter 4’s box office performance, there are reportedly restarted talks about a Chapter 5, according to THR:

“There’s a will and there’s an openness. And you could certainly interpret that ending in different ways,” said Lionsgate’s Joe Drake. “We’re all going to take a tiny rest here and then scratch at ideas about whether there’s a credible way to get into five. But there’s no guarantee.”

It does sound like if they did a Chapter 5, they would make it with Keanu back as Wick, writing his way out of his grave with the interpretation of the fake-out death ending. I just don’t know if I love that, and even the key players seem a little skeptical of that:

“Keanu and Chad, rightly so, are very protective about never screwing with the audience. So we certainly have our work cut out for us … Keanu is so beloved and that character is so beloved; that’s not lost on him,” Drake said.

So, in short, the John Wick universe will already live on through Ballerina and The Continental. But Chapter 5 is not a sure thing, and neither is Keanu’s return even if that does end up existing. So we’ll have to see.

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