Who would’ve thought that when Chad Stahelski made his directorial debut in 2014 with John Wick, it’d ignite an inferno of success that would birth not just one, not two, but three more thrilling chapters in the franchise? John Wick: Chapter 4 left us hanging by a thread with its ambiguous ending, sparking speculation about the potential for a fifth installment, and now Stahelski has given us an update that’s just as enigmatic.
- Chad Stahelski is unsure about directing John Wick 5.
- Lionsgate is interested in expanding the John Wick franchise.
- John Wick 4 provided closure for the series, according to Stahelski.
- John Wick’s fate was left ambiguous at the end of the fourth film.
- Keanu Reeves will appear in the upcoming spin-off film, Ballerina.
In a recent interview with Empire, Stahelski revealed that Lionsgate is eager to continue expanding the franchise. However, he admitted that he currently doesn’t have any ideas for a fifth film, stating:
I honestly don’t know. Lionsgate is keen on doing more John Wick stuff, understandably. It’s not a bad thing for a director to have a property that they want to make more of. I don’t have a take right now. But I could wake up tomorrow and have a cool idea that I’d pitch to Keanu, or he would pitch to me, and it might hit that chord of, ‘Oh my God, we got to do this right now.’ I have scenes, I have action sequences in my head that we haven’t used that I’d love to do. If we do come back, we can’t just do the same thing. I gotta do my homework. I gotta get better.
Stahelski also wasted no time clarifying that the fourth film brought much-needed closure to the ongoing plot after John Wick’s return to the world of assassins.
Now we’ve done the four, and completed the circle, so to speak, I think it’s pretty good closure for the series. And then there’s the competitor, or the real director in me who goes, ‘F*ck it, let’s just see if we can do it.’ It’s very appealing. I just don’t have the ‘why’ yet. But that doesn’t mean we should stop looking.
The latest installment saw the titular assassin finally decide to face the daunting High Table head-on, doing so in bold fashion by killing the same elder who holds power over the Table. In retaliation, High Table member Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont (brilliantly played by Bill Skarsgard) is granted unlimited resources to hunt down and eliminate John Wick once and for all.
The intense climax unfolds in an old-fashioned pistol duel between Wick and Gramont, resulting in Gramont’s defeat. But, Wick sustains multiple bullet injuries and appears to succumb to his wounds. The closing moments see Winston and the Bowery King standing over his gravestone, leaving his fate uncertain.
We all know the golden rule of movies: unless you witness a character’s death and see them buried on screen, they’re never truly gone, at least according to the directors. Stahelski himself addressed this when Comicbook.com inquired about the possibility of John Wick making a comeback for a fifth film, saying:
It’s both. I’m just not smart enough, or creative enough right now to crack that code. So, to both your questions, one, yes, that is a very deliberate shot with the dog. That’s meant, in my little mind, to [frick] with you a little bit, because ambiguity, like is he still or not? Because again, the whole thing is a myth. It’s a campfire story, all four movies. So, in my mind, John Wick, is he real? Is he not real? It’s a story about fate and consequence. So, either way, John Wick died at the end of that movie.
Now, is John still alive? Maybe, but the persona of the assassin, has had to pass away so that John can move forward. Take that metaphorically, take that physically, whatever you want to do. Is there a body in the ground? Is there not a body in the ground? Right?
Stahelski’s cryptic answers about John Wick’s future leave us with one clear message: as long as there is a new project in the works, Wick is far from dead. Will the upcoming Director’s Cut shed light on the plans of the successful 54-year-old director? Perhaps we’ll find clues in the added scenes that reveal the fate of Keanu Reeves’ iconic character. Only time will tell.
As of now, we can look forward to seeing Keanu Reeves suit up once again in the upcoming spin-off film, Ballerina. Helmed by Underworld director Len Wiseman, this highly anticipated project is set to hit theaters on June 7 next year.
