With “John Wick: Chapter 4” now out in cinemas, what comes next for the franchise may surprise as those involved have talked about where the films could go now, and more of what to expect from the spin-offs.
First up “The Continental” series prequel, set in New York City in 1970 and consisting of three 90-minute episodes, will be available in September according to producer Erica Lee (via Collider). Colin Woodell plays a young Winston and Ayomide Adegun is a young Charon in the show.
Also in the works is a new major “John Wick” video game with Lee confirming to the outlet it’s well into development saying: “I think it’s soon. I mean, we’re deeply working on it, so it’s not years away.” The new film is scoring raves for a top-down filmed action sequence that has been compared to “Hotline Miami”.
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The fourth film is now out in cinemas and sees Keanu Reeves’ Wick, having survived so many different attacks among other things, ending the film having been buried next to his wife’s final resting place. Is he really dead?
We do know a fifth “John Wick” was already in the works before the fourth had begun filming but that plan was scrapped over production delays. At a post-screening Q&A at the SXSW Film Festival explaining the reason for doing a fourth film, Reeves indicates his character’s death was the main factor:
“When Chad and I were talking about it, the ‘why’ is death, and it was John Wick’s dead. For him to get his peace or his freedom in a way, that was the reason to make the movie. You gotta have the ‘why.'”
The film’s director Chad Stahelski also makes it clear that this marks the final “John Wick” for the character. Speaking with THR he explained how the studio reacted to his and Reeves’ plan:
“The response was, ‘What are you f—-thinking?’ The note was, ‘Are you f—– insane?’. And Keanu and I just smiled and said, ‘Yeah.’ We decided we wanted to tie everything together, and we were like, ‘How do you give a proper goodbye?’ So that’s how we sold it to the studio because, at some point, this has gotta end, man.”
Stahelski also confirmed his team conducted additional shooting to include another possible ending that hints at Wick’s survival, but upon testing it they realised their original plan was the right one:
“There was a different way to do [the funeral scene], and we wanted it to be a little bit more mysterious. That’s why you see the puppy look up at the end [during the funeral scene]. So we did one test screening, and the audience revolted pretty hard about [the new ending shot during additional photography]. So we thought that we nailed it the first time, and to the studio’s credit, they didn’t even blink.”
The film does boast an end credits scene though that leaves the door open for Koji’s daughter Akira (Rina Sawayama) to potentially return to this franchise in some form.
“John Wick: Chapter 4” is in cinemas now. The spin-off film “Ballerina” is expected to be released sometime in 2024.
