Keanu Reeves’ role in the fifth John Wick film has been uncertain, but the team behind the franchise have revealed a clue about his future.
The John Wick films follow Reeves as a retired hitman seeking revenge on the men who killed the dog given to him by his late wife. The first movie was released in 2014, with sequels following in 2017, 2019 and 2023.
A spin-off, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, was confirmed in 2020 and is to be released later this year.
Although Reeves batted away rumours that he would be playing a part in the forthcoming movie, Lionsgate (the studio behind the film) have hinted that he may return in the future.
“This world continues to grow and expand in incredible ways,” Jenefer Brown, EVP and Head of Global Products & Experiences at Lionsgate, told Comicbook.com.
“Up next, of course, we have Ballerina, which is our first spin-off movie and [we] can't wait for that to release to the world.”
Brown added: “Of course, we've announced we're working on a fifth John Wick film. I think there are more spinoffs to come, a TV series, video game.”
Asked about the possible return of the titular hitman in a sequel, the Lionsgate representative said: “We’ve shared that we're developing a fifth John Wick film... [John Wick] may be [dead]. We are all on baited breath waiting to find out.”
Asked whether he was keen to step back into the part, the Matrix star responded: “You know, the character's dead. He died in John Wick: Chapter 4. I know, I know, it's the Hollywood story. Right now, there isn't [a plan to return]."
In a four-star review of the fourth entry, The Independent’s critic Clarisse Loughrey wrote: “Even at its nearly three-hour runtime, John Wick: Chapter 4 commits so nobly to its self-seriousness that it almost borders into camp.
“And yet, the franchise possesses both the self-confidence and the ingenuity to earn its boldness – even at one point replicating the 1962 classic Lawrence of Arabia and its famous cut from a blown-out match to a shimmering expanse of desert.”
