Keanu Reeves’ John Wick seemingly died at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, with the final scene featuring Ian McShane's Winston Scott and Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King standing over the character’s grave… but the assassin’s journey on the big screen isn’t over. In fact, things are significantly heating up in the future of the franchise, as today we got news of three new John Wick projects that are officially in development, including John Wick: Chapter 5.
CinemaCon, the annual convention for movie theater owners, is playing out in Las Vegas this week, and during this morning’s studio presentation from Lionsgate, the studio announced that the John Wick franchise is expanding in a major way. While director Len Wiseman’s Ballerina starring Ana de Armas isn’t set to arrive on the big screen until the summer, there are now three other features on the way as well, the titles including John Wick: Chapter 5, the spinoff Caine starring Donnie Yen, and an animated prequel film.
John Wick: Chapter 5 Is Officially A Go
Despite the death of the titular character in John Wick: Chapter 4, it took very little time after the release of the film for chatter to begin about a John Wick: Chapter 5, with a studio executive confirming development of the project in May 2023. Director Chad Stahelski has shared some doubt about the sequel, but now it has been announced that both he and Keanu Reeves are officially attached to make another film.
Specific plans for production have not been revealed, and the official announcement included neither a release date not the name of a screenwriter who will pen the script. Apparently, however, Keanu Reeves, Chad Stahelski and producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee have found a story that they want to tell.
When one considers the box office performance of John Wick: Chapter 4, this isn’t the most shocking development – even with acknowledging the death of the eponymous hero. The 2023 sequel was the biggest hit yet for the series, as it finished its run at the box office earning over $440 million worldwide (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum previously set the franchise high water mark making $326.7 million in 2019.
Needless to say, John Wick: Chapter 5 is a project that we here at CinemaBlend will be keeping a close eye on as it continues to move through development.
Caine Is Getting His Own Movie, And Donnie Yen Will Both Star And Direct
One of the key reasons why John Wick: Chapter 4 was such a massive success with both critics and audiences was the exciting franchise addition of Donnie Yen as the blind, hyper-skilled assassin Caine, and it was announced today that the hype has been translated into a spinoff film. A new spinoff simply titled Caine is now in the works, and it is coming together very fast.
Donnie Yen will not only be back to star in the upcoming action movie set in the world of John Wick, but he is also going to direct it as well. Yen last provided an update about the film earlier this year, but the project now has the greenlight, and production is going to start in Hong Kong in 2025.
Mattson Tomlin, best known for creating the Netflix animated series Terminator Zero, has been tapped to write the screenplay for the film. The filmmaker’s other upcoming projects include The Batman Part II, which is being written in collaboration with director Matt Reeves, and BRZRKR, which is based on the comic of the same name and has Keanu Reeves attached to star.
Details about the story are being kept a secret for now, but it has been confirmed that Caine will be taking place after the events of John Wick: Chapter 4 and the titular protagonist earning his freedom from the sinister assassin organization known as the High Table. The character was originally going to be killed by Rina Sawayama’s Akira in the end credits of the last John Wick movie, but an audible was called to spare the character’s life, and that has opened the door for the spinoff.
A John Wick Animated Prequel Is Going To Tell The Story Of John’s Impossible Task
While both John Wick: Chapter 5 and Caine will both be expanding the John Wick canon beyond the events of John Wick: Chapter 4, Lionsgate also announced a new film that will be exploring the past. While the project seemingly doesn’t have an official title just yet, an animated prequel movie has been given the green light, and it will tell the story of the legendary Impossible Task that Keanu Reeves’ character completed so that he could leave the assassin life behind and live a life of peace with his wife.
Shannon Tindle, who most recently co-wrote and directed the Netflix animated film Ultraman: Rising, is taking the helm of the developing film and collaborating with screenwriter Vanessa Taylor, who was a co-executive producer on the second and third seasons of Game Of Thrones and co-wrote Guillermo del Toro’s Best Picture-winning 2017 film The Shape Of Water.
In an official statement, Chad Stahelski (who is a producer on the project) described the developing prequel feature as a “John Wick anime” – which informs us about the animation style that will be employed – and Keanu Reeves will be back to voice the movie’s lead character.
A release date for the animated John Wick prequel has not been announced.
Clearly the future of the action franchise is quite bright, and we will continue to follow all of the big developments with these three movies in the weeks, months and years ahead. Audiences will be able to see the next story in the canon, Ballerina, when it arrives in theaters everywhere on June 6, and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend in the coming days for more exciting news out of CinemaCon.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
