John Wick 5 Is Going in a New Direction
People keep asking if John Wick is back, and yes he is.
Photo: Lionsgate/Everett Collection
Okay, hold up. Is John Wick actually dead or is there more to the story? Like more than just the Ballerina? After Lionsgate announced a fifth installment to the John Wick franchise at CinemaCon, it’s hard not to get your wheels turning, wondering what Keanu Reeves might do next as the seemingly slain assassin. It didn’t seem like Akira (Rina Sawayama) was ready to give up just yet. And neither is Lionsgate on what the future looks like for a vengeful hitman.
You can breathe now; Reeves will still be involved in some way, but the story might not be as focused on him anymore, or at least his involvement with the High Table. “The saga of John Wick was pretty wrapped up,” Stahelski told Empire in May 2025. “So the only way to do a 5 is to have a new story that involves John Wick. It’s not a continuation, with the High Table. John dealt with his grief. It will be really different, and everybody [will] see the trailer and go, ‘Holy fuck… I gotta see that.” Wait, so Wick is getting a new enemy? Oo, la, la.
Ballerina, starring Ana De Armas, comes out on June 6 and serves as an in-between-sequel smushed between Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 of the original John Wick films. As for the Caine (Donnie Yen) movie, it starts production later this year. The anime-style John Wick prequel still has a ways to go as it was greenlit earlier this year at CinemaCon, but thankfully there’s enough Wick-verse to go around in the mean time.
