Keanu Reeves is set to return, as John Wick 5 is gearing up for a 2025 shoot. More details on the story right here.
When John Wick: Chapter 4 released last year, director Chad Stahelski talked about ‘resting’ the franchise and that seemed like a good idea. After all, the fourth instalment of the popular action series had really stretched the concept. The set pieces, the scale of the narrative, even the runtime – which was nearly three hours – contributed to the sense that the team behind the film were giving us everything they possibly could because this might just be the last time Mr Wick laid out his unique brand of punishment upon a horde of faceless goons.
Those involved in the series would benefit from a rest too, it seemed. Chad Stahelski (director of the John Wick films) seems to have one of the longest project slates in Hollywood. The four John Wick films that we’ve (gratefully) received in the past decade have resulted in the series’ star, Keanu Reeves not getting to do a great deal else.
With both men off now doing lots of interesting-sounding projects, you might have thought that the stone-faced assassin might get a longer hiatus, but that appears not to be the case.
Daniel RPK (via Hollywood Handle) is reporting that the next John Wick film is targeting a 2025 shoot. Script work was said to have begun shortly after last year’s strikes ended, whilst the January announcement that Stahelski would be Lionsgate’s creative overseer for all future Wick projects may well have accelerated his return to the director’s chair.
The director is already busy at work in this new role: he’s been overseeing extensive reshoots on the spin-off film, Ballerina, which is due to release next summer after being delayed, while also working on the John Wick: Under the High Table TV show which may well link the fourth and fifth films together.
While everybody has their favourite, it’s fair to say that there isn’t really a weak film in the John Wick series so far, either critically or commercially. For that reason alone, Lionsgate has clearly been very enthusiastic to build its future production slate around the series, with movie boss Joe Drake publicly stating how really rather keen the studio were to keep things going, stating back in March of 2023, “we’re not ready to say goodbye to Keanu with this franchise. It’s what alternative there will be”.
Should this report prove to be accurate, it looks like the studio has gotten its way without needing an ‘alternative’ and we just wonder how many projects Stahelski and Reeves can cram into their schedule before this one gets going.
Stahelski is set to shoot his Highlander remake in early 2025 so where that leaves his Ghost Of Tsushima adaptation, we’re not sure. As for Reeves, he is said to have several other action projects in the pipeline, such as BRZRKR and Constantine 2 (as well as a Broadway run in Waiting For Godot, opposite Alex Winter). When we hear more about how this will all shake out, you can be sure we’ll let you know.
