Despite throwing a splash of cold water on a possible “John Wick 5,” Chad Stahelski goes on to explain in the same THR interview that, later in the press tour, he and Keanu Reeves will likely come together to go over story ideas for a follow-up:
“I’m sure the studio has a plan. If everyone loves it and it goes kooky, then we’ll take a quiet minute. ‘Wick’ always, for some weird reason, always get the latest release date in Japan. It’s always like, three months later. If it’s the same this time, we’ll do a Japanese tour and release the movie in September. Keanu and I will take the long trip to Tokyo, we’ll sit in the Imperial Hotel Scotch Bar and go, ‘What do you think?’ We’ll have a couple 20-year-old whiskies and write some ideas on napkins. If those ideas stick, maybe we’ll make a movie.”
Putting aside the subtle flex about using his and Reeves’ clout to stay at the most expensive hotels (on the studio’s dime, of course, but still!) and procure the finest of whisky, these comments actually echo what the director recently told /Film. In an interview with Vanessa Armstrong, Stahelski explained that he approaches every “John Wick” film as if it were his last one, taking the requisite two to three years between entries to continue to hone his craft and become a better filmmaker than he was before. Should he and Reeves land on an idea that makes a return to this world of shadowy assassins more than just a “paycheck” gig, in his words, then we can expect this franchise to keep trucking along.
Something tells us audiences will be eager for another sequel after “John Wick: Chapter 4,” which attacks theaters on March 24, 2023.
