Keanu Reeves Will Make a Killing With John Wick 5

If Lionsgate has any say, this IP won’t RIP anytime soon. Per Variety, the studio announced at CinemaCon that Keanu Reeves is returning to reprise his role as the titular hit man in John Wick: Chapter Five. Reeves will reunite with franchise director and producer Chad Stahelski, plus producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee. “Keanu, Chad, Basil, and Erica would not return unless they had something truly phenomenal and fresh to say with these characters and this world,” Lionsgate chair Adam Fogelson insisted, while Iwanyk and Lee added, “It’s so important to get this story right and give John’s story the proper next step. It’s exciting to take the first step on that road.” Each movie in this franchise has made more money than the last, so if that trend continues, the team is set to murder at the box office. For now, we still don’t know who else is in the cast or what the plot will be. John Wick: Chapter 4 left audiences wondering whether Wick was dead, and the existence of a sequel seems to suggest that this is not the case. But hey, maybe the franchise is about to pivot into zombie horror? We’ll wait for Lionsgate to give us an official logline.

In the meantime, the John Wick universe is also set to expand with several other sources of income upcoming projects. Before picking his nunchucks back up for John Wick 5, Reeves is due to appear alongside Ana de Armas in the Eve Macarro spinoff Ballerina, out June 6. He will also voice the hit man in an anime prequel film that follows the origin story of John Wick taking on the “Impossible Task.” Lionsgate said the animated story is targeted at “more mature audiences,” which won’t be too surprising to anyone who knows anything about the murderous mission in question.

Martial-arts legend Donnie Yen is also set to return as blind assassin Caine in a standalone spinoff film that’s being described as the type of action thriller that made Yen famous. The Batman Part II writer Mattson Tomlin has signed on to write the latest draft of the yet-to-be-titled project, which follows Caine after he has been freed from his obligations to the High Table. Production starts in Hong Kong later this year. Yen, who will also serve as director and executive producer, said he appreciates Lionsgate for giving him an opportunity to “elevate the franchise.” Hey, at this point, it seems like the studio never wants to stop climbing.

• [Variety]

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