When John Wick first came out, no one had any idea that it would launch one of the most successful action franchises in film history while propelling Keanu Reeves’ career back into the spotlight and turning director Chad Stahelski into one of the hottest directors in Hollywood. The film was an insane success though, as have been its sequels. However, fans are wondering if John Wick: Chapter 4 is the last in the series, the end of the line, and we won’t “be seeing you” anymore. The answer to that question contains spoilers for Chapter 4.
As a refresher, Mr. Wick has been through quite the ordeal in the first three films. After getting out of the assassination business and quitting the secret world of trained killers run by the High Table, John Wick was sucked back in when the son of a mob boss stole his car and killed his puppy. Out for revenge, the unstoppable “Baba Yaga” killed everyone he could and hoped to just walk away. Unfortunately, he couldn’t as he was pulled back in in John Wick: Chapter 2 by another crime boss who had a Marker, forcing him to do a job for this guy. That went south too and he had to kill everyone again. Of course, killing everyone has its consequences, and so Wick went on the run in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, eventually killing nearly everyone but being betrayed at the very end. That sets up John Wick: Chapter 4, which features Wick on a quest to take down the High Table and basically burn it all to the ground.
John Wick: Chapter 4 May Be the End
If you had asked whether or not there would be a John Wick: Chapter 5 back in 2020, the resounding answer would have been yes. Lionsgate, the studio behind the films, had committed to both a fourth and fifth film with the plan being to shoot them back to back. However, plans change, especially in the middle of a pandemic, and the fifth film was eventually canceled, leaving it in limbo for the time being. The cancellation came as the filmmakers realized that they couldn’t do the fifth film justice by shooting back to back.
However, given the way John Wick: Chapter 4 ends with John Wick dying, it seems clear that it is the last movie and no fifth movie will come. It’s possible that Chapters 4 and 5 were mushed together into this final film, especially given its prolonged running time, but the final outcome is the same: John Wick dies in Paris after finally winning his freedom from the High Table. It’s a pretty concrete death as well, as we see him take his final breath and his gravestone, sitting lovingly next to his beloved wife’s.
Of course, this is the movies, and that means no one ever really dies. There is always a chance for a fifth film in the franchise at Lionsgate, considering the positive reviews and ferocious box office returns. The question comes down to whether or not Reeves and Stahelski want to make it. Both have been playing dumb through press interviews, but Stahelski has already said he’d like a break from John Wick. Still, he’s commented that he and Reeves may sit down and knock out ideas, and if something comes up, then they’ll be game for a fifth film. That could, of course, all be smoke and mirrors to keep the surprise ending secret.
The John Wick Universe Isn’t Ending
While we don’t know yet if Chapter 4 is genuinely the last movie and there will be no John Wick: Chapter 5 at all, what we do know is that the universe that the films have built will not be ending at all. Lionsgate is working on multiple spinoffs that take place in the same world. The first is a show called The Continental, which will take place at a Continental hotel, the place where killers and criminals stay in the world of John Wick and one of the few safe havens. The series will explore the origins of the secretive hotel chain(?) and be a three-part mini-series told from the perspective of a young Winston Scott. The series was originally slated to be on Starz but has since moved to Peacock. It will premiere sometime this year.
The second is the film Ballerina and stars Ana de Armas as a deadly ballerina trained by the same people that trained John Wick. And guess what — she’s out for revenge too. It takes place between John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4 and is directed by Len Wiseman. There’s no release date yet, but it could possibly drop at the end of 2023 or sometime in early 2024.
It’s not just films that will continue on John Wick, however, as Lionsgate has said that it wants to partner with a gaming studio to put out a AAA John Wick video game.
