Fans of The World of John Wick are eating well right now. Following the recent release of Ballerina, we’re getting at least two more spinoff projects, in the Donnie Yen-led Caine and an animated prequel from the director of Ultraman: Rising. However, the biggest news for any fan is going to be that John Wick: Chapter 5 is in development. Although the movie is far from a sure thing at this point.
It’s been confirmed that a new chapter in the John Wick franchise starring Keanu Reeves is very much something the studio wants to make. But at this point, a few things are standing in the way. The most important is the script, as franchise leader Chad Stahelski has said he’s not certain he can “crack” the reason for such a movie to exist. But there is another possible hurdle, the fact that Keanu Reeves is getting older. An unnamed source recently told In Touch Weekly that Reeves will only do the movie if the action is more geared toward his age. The source claimed…
The Wick franchise was a genius financial move that paid off in spades. Keanu isn’t giving up on that world anytime soon, but he needs the writing to reflect his age and his limitations so he has a chance of surpassing them, which he always does!
he made the first John Wick movie over a decade ago. As such, Reeves will need a script that takes this into account.
Wick’s apparent death at the end of the last movie. It seems that Reeves’concerns are being discussed as part of putting the script together. The source continued…
What’s happening with John Wick right now is the slow walk-up that goes along with any Keanu Reeves movie these days. The script is being written and Keanu is being perfectly honest about what he’s willing and not willing to do stunt-wise. There’s no faking this. He’s being totally honest about what he can and can’t do, and he had put his body through hell for these movies.
Fans of John Wick probably don’t need to worry too much. Reeves is still in remarkable shape for 60 years old, so he’s likely still capable of plenty of the action that we’ve seen in the franchise. It simply means that action sequences will need to be devised in a way to focus on what he can do, and not on what he can’t. We probably won’t see John Wick get thrown down the stairs multiple times in the next film.
One thing that likely won’t be an issue? The money. Keanu’s John Wick deal reportedly means that he gets paid very well for the sequels, after taking a lower salary for the first movie. And considering each ensuing John Wick film has made more money than the one before, expectations are that paying Reeves will be worth it. According to the source…
It’s a work in progress, and it’s what you get when you agree to pay Keanu $35 million for a giant action sequel. He’s going to do everything and anything he possibly can to make this work, but he’s in his sixties now and everybody has their limits.
Of course, none of this matters until we actually have a script for John Wick: Chapter 5. Hopefully, that isn’t too far away.