One of the most endlessly relevant and timeless action movies of the current century, V for Vendetta has a championed legacy that stems in large part from the excellent action sequences peppered throughout the political rebellion story. Yet somehow, in the 20 years since it first hit theaters, I never fully clocked that the stuntwork was handled by the masterful future John Wick filmmakers Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who’d previously worked with director James McTeigue on the Wachowskis’ Matrix franchise.

McTeigue spoke with CinemaBlend to celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary, and along with geeking out about V for Vendetta’s stellar ending, I asked his thoughts about bringing Leitch and Stahelski with him into his directorial debut (which Lana and Lilly Wachowski produced and co-scripted with David Lloyd). Here’s what he told me, as seen in the video above:

Being Keanu Reeves' stunt double in the Maxtrix movies should be a good enough job resumé to get just about any gig imaginable. And V for Vendetta provided the chance for Leitch to show off his skills without the need to worry

Easily one of Natalie Portman's best movies, V for Vendetta is one that will no doubt hold up very well against just about any future movie sharing any of its subgenres, thanks to all the talent on board behind the scenes. Not to mention all the awesome practical effects on display, with few wildly obvious uses of CGI. And anyone who says otherwise is no doubt one of Sutler's goons. As cool as it'd be to see that proposed TV series take place within the DCU, I won't get too tyrannical if it doesn't pan out.

Karen Gillan has just wrapped work on the newest entry in the Jumanji franchise, but there’s no rest for the wicked, and the actress is already jumping into her next project. She’s set to play the wife of Henry Cavill’s immortal hero in the remake of Highlander, and it appears that this morning she sat down over breakfast to go over the script.

Gillan posted an image on Instagram in which the two major stars were a bag of Scottish oats and a very nice, leather-bound copy of what is surely the Highlander script. It’s unclear from the image if she is actually on set right now, but she is surely headed in that direction.

Karen Gillan has been very excited to appear in the new Highlander movie, directed by John Wick’s Chad Stahelski. She is actually from the highlands of Scotland, making her the absolute right woman for the job.

We’ve already seen images of Henry Cavill in a modern-day setting as lead character Conor Macloud. Like the original Highlander, we know the new movie will take place both in the modern day and in the past. It appears the production is getting ready to film the sequences set in 1400s Scotland, where Gillan’s character will be prominent.

The original Highlander sees Conor MacLeod marry a girl named Heather after he is exiled from his clan for witchcraft following the discovery of his immortality. Heather is ultimately killed by the Kurgan, the movie’s villain, who will be played by Dave Bautista in the remake.

It’s unclear what deviations from the original the new Highlander may make. One that appears likely is an expanded role for Heather. She wasn’t a major character in the original film, only appearing in a couple of scenes. The flashbacks time-jumped over their meeting and falling in love. Heather mostly existed to be killed off.

It seems unlikely that anybody would hire Karen Gillan to play a role as small as the one in the original movie, which indicates the part will be a bit more substantial this time around. That could simply mean more screen time for Heather, or it could mean a more significant performance from her in the few scenes she has. It could also be some combination of the two.

Whatever the plan, as a serious fan of Highlander who always felt the franchise never really lived up to its potential, I can’t wait to see what happens with it. It seems clear that the plan, assuming the movie is successful, is a larger Highlander franchise. And if things change enough for Karen Gillan’s character, the possibility of seeing more of her isn’t out of the question.

When the original Highlander made its way to the big screen in 1986, the film’s sweeping ballad from Queen asked the audience “Who wants to live forever?” Cut to looking ahead from the 2025 movie schedule, and the answer I’m tempted to give is, “Anyone who wanted to see Henry Cavill’s Highlander reboot actually happen.”

Well it doesn’t seem like it’ll be that long before director Chad Stahelski’s vision will be in front of us, especially since Russell Crowe has now been drafted into a pretty impressive role. The casting coup, announced by Collider, suggests that Cavill’s Kryptonian father from Man of Steel will be playing fellow immortal Ramirez; which is perfect – despite the obvious racial difference.

Played by Sean Connery in the original, Ramirez is the man who helps Highlander protagonist Connor MacLeod adjust to the tradition of decimating his fellow immortals, until there’s only one. Because, you see, there can only be one.

Henry Cavill’s role as Connor (originally played by Christopher Lambert) would put him in line to once again learn from the Gladiator legend, and potentially for longer than they worked together in Man of Steel. Which, again, is a reason to get excited about Russell Crowe’s potential place in this new round of beheadings.

And that's on top of Highlander’s supposed attention to lore that’s excited its geeky lead in the past. Admittedly, that’s the sort of news that distracts one from wondering about Highlander’s previous budget concerns, which saw the film fall into limbo before Amazon-MGM Studios stepped in.

What’s even more fun to ponder is how, after watching the trailer for 1986’s Highlander, it sounds like Sean Connery saying some things that Crowe may or may not have said in Zack Snyder’s 2013 DC reboot. Take a look for yourself, and tell me I’m wrong:

Look, if Chad Stahelski doesn’t at least consider Adam Lambert and Queen for the soundtrack to Highlander’s reboot, what are we even doing here? If Russell Crowe’s casting does happen to be for Ramirez, he and Henry Cavill have clearly shown their love for the original film’s spirit. That only makes my hypothetical suggestion above more valid, because who else are you going to trust with “Princes of the Universe?” I thought so.

At the moment, there’s still a lot of moving pieces in play for Highlander to happen. With production aiming to start this fall, there’s a chance that 2026 or 2027 will see the next era of these immortals hitting the big screen. That is, of course, if Mr. Cavill's Warhammer 40,000 adaptation doesn't get in the way. So now with two thirds of the major characters seemingly cast, one question will be occupying our minds until it’s answered: who in the hell is going to play the Kurgan?!

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…

While the source claims Keanu Reeves is still more than happy to push the limits of what he’s capable of physically, it’s simply that where that limit is today isn’t where it was back when he made the first John Wick movie over a decade ago. As such, Reeves will need a script that takes this into account.

At this point, very little is known about John Wick: Chapter 5 and what it may entail. All we know is that the story that came to a close with John Wick: Chapter 4 will remain over, and the new film will start some sort of brand new story, while also dealing with 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…

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…

Of course, none of this matters until we actually have a script for John Wick: Chapter 5. Hopefully, that isn’t too far away.

In the new John Wick spinoff Ballerina, the presence of Keanu Reeves feels like a security blanket of sorts. Without a guarantee that audiences would buy into a new movie within the canon following a new protagonist, the filmmaker/studio included plenty of the legendary Baba Yaga to make the project appear more connected to the continuity/enticing. But what does that potentially say about the franchise as a whole as it continues to expand with a variety of projects? It's an interesting conundrum for John Wick series director/Ballerina producer Chad Stahelski that the filmmaker recently addressed

The question of whether or not the John Wick canon can expand without leaning directly on the star power power of Keanu Reeves is one that was posed directly to Stahelski during a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, and the short answer to the matter is "yes" (and it's apparently something he has discussed with the actor personally). That being said, he also recognizes that there is a need to not spread the material too thin with too much too fast. Said the Ballerina producer,

So what does that mean in his eyes? Chad Stahelski constructed a metaphor by imagining a multi-series Alice In Wonderland franchise. He continued,

As of right now, with Ballerina now playing in theaters, there are three projects that have been lined up for the future of the John Wick franchise:

• A Caine Spinoff: A live-action from John Wick: Chapter 4 centered around the blind assassin played by Donnie Yen (Yen is also attached to direct).
• John Wick's Impossible Task Prequel: An animated movie that will tell the story of how John Wick managed to win his freedom from the High Council so that he could live a life of peace with his wife, Helen
• John Wick: Chapter 5: While recent comments from Chad Stahelski have suggested that the sequel isn't guaranteed, another sequel centered around the world's most dangerous assassin following the end of John Wick: Chapter 4 is in development.

From that list, the Caine project will presumably be the big test for the strength of the John Wick franchise – assuming that the story doesn't find a way to incorporate some kind of Keanu Reeves appearance. It will be fascinating to see how things develop following the release of Ballerina, and we here at CinemaBlend will continue to keep you apprised of the latest developments within the canon.

The world of John Wick is expanding with the newly released spinoff film Ballerina, which follows Ana de Armas’ Eve Macarro as she embarks on a revenge-fueled path. While the 2025 movie release is definitely Eve’s film it also features the Baba Yaga himself, played by the returning Keanu Reeves. As much as excited as some fans may have been to see Reeves reprise his famous role, though fellow franchise veteran Chad Stahelski honestly didn’t want him to return. So that begs the question of why it happened regardless.

Having directed all four of the John Wick films and served as a producer on the series as well, Chad Stahelski knows more than a few things about this beloved IP. So, at this point, he’s definitely not shy about voicing his opinion when it comes to details he’s not too fond of. The Ballerina producer spoke to THR, during which he confirmed that he wasn’t keen on Wick himself popping up in this latest story. While Stahelski didn’t dive deep into his reasoning, he was “honest” in admitting the benefit of having the character in the mix:

Overall, that logic is understandable, considering that Lionsgate is trying to prop up a new character, Eve, with this latest film. So it would make sense for the execs and filmmakers to try and give the spinoff a bump by having Wick play a supporting role. I’m not sure what the producer’s exact concern was in regard to adding Wick to the story. Maybe he was worried that having the infamous assassin pop in might take the shine away from Eve. That would be a genuine concern, but I’d argue that Wick doesn’t step on Eve’s toes too much.

Ballerina may muck up John Wick’s timeline a bit, but it’s hard to deny the sheer awesomeness that results from the film’s chronological placement. Without getting too specific, Wick shows up a few times in the film, with his initial appearance being part of a more personal scene. Of course, as the trailers and TV spots have teased, he and Eve come to blows in a big way, and the sequence makes the movie tickets well worth the price of admission.

However, fans should know that just because Keanu Reeves reprised his role for this latest spinoff, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll return in other offshoots. Chad Stahelski went on to confirm to THR that Reeves will not appear in the film focused on Donnie Yen’s Caine. Stahelski went on to explain why he’s not worried about having the franchise’s signature character appear in that flick:

Despite that, there is good news for those who are hoping to see Wick appear once more. John Wick: Chapter 5 was officially announced earlier this year and, while Chad Stahelski says it may not be completely set in stone, he believes Lionsgate is going to “will it into existence.” I look forward to seeing more of the character but remain hopeful that other characters, like Eve and Caine, can carve out their own paths alone as well. For now, check out Ballerina in theaters, and be on the lookout for upcoming action movies.

At the beginning of April, Lionsgate announced that John Wick: Chapter 5 was officially moving forward, as was Donnie Yen’s Caine spinoff and the animated prequel detailing the story of John’s Impossible Task. But maybe a fifth John Wick movie isn’t a sure thing after all. At least, that’s the way it sounds reading director Chad Stahelski’s latest comments on the franchise right as the Ana de Armas-led spinoff Ballerina is released onto the 2025 release schedule.

Between directing all four John Wick movies, helping helm the Ballerina reshoots (albeit uncredited) and, most importantly, having creative oversight on the entire franchise, it goes without saying that Stahelski is the person who’s best attuned to this world anchored by Keanu Reeves’ badass assassin. That’s why I was puzzled when he said the following to THR in the midst of discussing why it was important that John Wick: Chapter 4 didn’t end on a cliffhanger:

On the off chance there are a few of you who’ve made it this far, but don’t know what Chad Stahelski’s talking about, John Wick: Chapter 4 ended with the implication that Keanu Reeves’ title character died from the injuries he sustained in that movie, particularly being shot by Caine. Ian McShane’s Winston and Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King were seen standing near a gravestone with his name on it and bidding farewell to their friend. That seems like a pretty cut and dry way to end this saga, right?

Evidently not since Lionsgate wants to keep the main John Wick film series going, but despite what the studio announced, it sounds like Chad Stahelski isn’t quite as certain. To be sure, he did say earlier in the THR profile that he and writer Mike Finch have a “pretty good story” for John Wick: Chapter 5 that he thinks is “cool.” Once they have a “50-page book,” then they’ll meet with Keanu Reeves and further refine whatever this story is. But when asked for clarification about if Chapter 5 is “not a lock,” Stahelski responded:

Considering that John Wick: Chapter 4 earned positive critical reception like its predecessors and made over $447 million worldwide, I don’t blame Lionsgate for wanting for wanting to keep that money train going. But at the same time, I worry that John Wick: Chapter 5 in whatever form it comes in will end up ruining what was truly a powerful ending. At least Chad Stahelski made it clear he and Mike Finch, and soon Keanu Reeves, aren’t taking a fifth movie lightly and putting in the effort to making sure the story is something worthwhile.

Once John Wick: Chapter 5 gets a release date, then I’ll be more inclined to think that this project is actually happening. Until then, feel free to CinemaBlend’s Ballerina review, whether you’ve already seen the spinoff or plan to catch it at your local theater.

The John Wick franchise has been incredibly successful, so it’s not exactly a shock that there are multiple films in development. Later this year, we’ll see the Ana de Armas-led Ballerina, and the next couple of years promise a Donnie Yen-starring Caine spinoff and an animated John Wick prequel. However, one movie that has the potential to be the biggest of them all is also potentially the most difficult to make, John Wick: Chapter 5.

A new John Wick film starring Keanu Reeves is certainly the thing that fans are going to want. However, considering that John Wick: Chapter 4 seemingly wrapped up the story quite nicely, one wonders how a new movie will even work. Director and franchise producer Chad Stahelski admits to Empire that the last movie ended the previous story, so he says the only way to make Chapter 5 is to tell a new story. He explained…

The ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 gave us John Wick’s apparent death. And while the death of John Wick was ambiguous enough that discovering he’s alive won’t require a great deal of work, the bigger issue is that Wick’s larger goal (getting out from under the High Table) was accomplished. As such, there isn’t an obvious place for John Wick: Chapter 5 to continue the story.

The decision to tell some sort of brand-new story feels like the right one. At the end of the day, as long as it has the action we’ve come to expect, those moments that, in the words of Chad Stahelski, make the audience say “Holy crap,” fans will be happy.

Of course, the thing that might truly determine the success of John Wick: Chapter 5 is how it starts. The circumstances that brought John Wick out of retirement became an iconic element in the whole series. Whatever it is that brings John Wick back from the dead is going to have to be at least as powerful to get the audience invested.

The change in focus certainly doesn’t mean that the elements of the John Wick universe, like the Continental Hotel, won’t play their part. One assumes that since Wick successfully freed himself from the High Table, they shouldn’t mind that he’s not actually dead. In fact, a new direction could lead to the creation of more elements of this universe that we haven’t seen before, which could open the doors to even more exciting material.

As somebody who loves the John Wick franchise so much, I recently checked out the John Wick Experience in Las Vegas, I will be looking forward to seeing John Wick: Chapter 5 whenever we get that chance.

Finally, after years and years and years, the Academy Awards will officially award stunts! For a very long time now, there’s been a campaign to add a category that honors those who create epic action in some of the best movies. Now, it will happen, and two of films’ top action directors, Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, reacted to the news alongside a bunch of other excited folks.

For context, John Wick’s Chad Stahelski has been one of the biggest advocates for the addition of an Achievement in Stunt Design award. After the news was announced, the director got on the phone with Deadline in the midst of working on the 2025 movie schedule's Ballerina (which he's a producer on) and said:

Stahelski also praised The Academy for “really [doing] their homework.” He said the organization didn’t doubt that the stunt category needed to be added, that’s not necessarily why this addition took so long. Instead, they took their time figuring out “how to give the award, who to give it to,” and “how do we select it.”

Now, the first Achievement in Stunt Design award will be given out in 2028 at the 100th Oscars for films released in 2027, per Variety. Rules for eligibility and voting will also be announced around then.

Alongside Stahelski, many other suntmen-turned-directors played a role in the addition of this category. This included David Leitch, the director of films like The Fall Guy and Deadpool 2. He took to his Instagram to post an image of The Academy’s letter announcing the news and wrote:

In the comments on Leitch’s post, many actors shared their excitement for the addition as well, and the list included Hannah Waddingham, who notably starred in his film The Fall Guy:

• “🔥🔥🔥”-Pom Klementieff
• “Oh my GOD,this is immense! Beyond thrilled for the global stunt community. So riDICulously well deserved. A phenomenal band of humans who give everything of themselves every day and look after us ALL every minute. Couldn’t be happier. 🥰 What a day finally! XXXXXXXXX” -Hannah Waddingham
• “👏👏👏” -Nicholas Hoult

Many others in the stunt community also reacted to this historic and thrilling news. Notably, this included The Fall Guy’s stunt coordinator Chris O’Hara and Josh Oreck, who has been a producer on many John Wick movies. In a joint IG post with David Leitch and Narrator Inc, the group expressed:

Overall, this is a massive and historic win for stunts, and so many people can’t wait to see these incredible teams nominated and awarded for their action-packed work.

While it’s too bad we can’t go back and award the best action movies from decades past with this award, at least it will be given moving forward. And who knows, maybe the inaugural Achievement in Stunt Design award will go to one of the folks mentioned above. It’s certainly possible, especially with films like John Wick: Chapter 5 coming down the line.

Chad Stahelski has been one of my favorite directors for the past decade now, as he’s a filmmaker with a lot to bring the to table. Responsible for the John Wick franchise, which comprises some of the best action movies of all time, the stuntman-turned-filmmaker has a great eye for action, an attention to detail that is pretty much unmatched, and a knack for storytelling. So when I started hearing rumors that he’s being eyed to direct the long-in-the-works Blade reboot, you think I’d be excited and turn into the “shut up and take my money” gif. Right? Well, not so much…

As a huge fan of both Stahelski and the Blade movies (is their ay better opening scene than the blood-soaked club sequence?), I don’t know if this is the best idea for either side. Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to see the upcoming Marvel movie the night it drops, I just don’t know if this is the best route.

Don't Get Me Wrong, I Think Chad Stahelski Would Be Perfect For Blade

When I first read rumors about Chad Stahelski possibly directing Blade on sites like World of Reel and ScreenRant a few weeks ago, my immediate reaction was, "Yes, Kevin Feige, make this happen and let it happen soon!" I mean, the thought of the man who crafted all those absurdly violent and intense John Wick fight scenes making a movie about Marvel Comics’ premier Daywalker, this time played by Mahershala Ali, seems like a match made in action movie heaven. It’d be like George A. Romero making a Resident Evil movie.

Over the years, Stahelski has proven time and time again that not only can he direct impressive action sequences or shootouts like nobody’s business, but he can also build worlds with deep lore and all kinds of intertwined stories set in the same universe. With the MCU getting larger every single day (we are building to the Russos’ Avengers: Doomsday after all), this is something that could work really well if the rumors end up being true and the movie actually gets off the ground.

But that brings me to my first major sticking point…

It's Just That The MCU Project's Development Has Had One Obstacle After Another

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Blade was first announced back in 2019, and since then, it’s been a “start and stop” affair that has seen all kinds of obstacles, delays, and other problems along the way. The highly-anticipated comic book adaptation was supposed to be coming out near the end of the 2025 movie schedule with a November 5th debut, but Marvel brass later decided to take it off the calendar entirely with no new date announced. Numerous other Marvel projects have been announced and released during that same nearly-six-year stretch, but we still have nothing concrete in terms of story for Blade.

The only real updates we have received over the years are those about the movie being in development hell or details about plans that were long ago scrapped. Kevin Feige will come around every few months to update on why Blade’s taking so long or address rumors, but nothing ever seems to come from it. I don’t want to give up on this entirely like it’s the ill-fated El Muerto starring Bad Bunny, but I honestly don’t have high hopes at this moment.

And It Seems Like The Can Would Have To Be Kicked Even Further Down The Road With All The John Wick 5 Talk

Another reason I’m on the fence about Chad Stahelski directing the Blade movie is the fact that he’s going to be helming the recently announced John Wick: Chapter 5, which will also see the return of Keanu Reeves’ titular hitman. With the franchise alive and well – the highly anticipated Ballerina hits theaters this summer and more projects are on the way – I can’t imagine Stahelski wanting to turn his attention away from a property that is clearly near and dear to his heart. With Blade having no release date, and opening spots on the MCU calendar getting further and further out, this could be another “kick the can” situation on our hands.

I still don’t know much about the fifth John Wick movie or how it will handle the return of its main character after he presumably died after the onslaught of bullets, knives and other weapons in John Wick: Chapter 4, but I’m sure the franchise’s major players are working on all that right now. That means that Stahelski will most likely be spending a considerable amount of time in the coming months and years finding a story worth telling.

Stahelski Is Also Working On Highlander And Ghost Of Tsushima, And I'm Worried About His Bandwidth

If you’ve followed Chad Stahelski for the past couple of years, you know that he has seriously become one of the busiest people in show business. I have, and now I’m starting to get kind of worried about his bandwidth. Since 2023, he’s been attached to direct a few different projects and produce even more, which is absolutely wild. While there are a lot of projects in the works from the John Wick director, there are two that I’m most excited to see: his Ghost of Tsushima live-action adaptation and his remake of Highlander starring Henry Cavill.

Stahelski has been working on Highlander for a few years now, and it remains to be seen how much him jumping in to help Ballerina’s reshoots impacted the fantasy remake, but hopefully this is something that happens. This also applies to Ghost of Tsushima, a big-screen take on the popular PlayStation game of the same name. He revealed a ton of details about the upcoming video game adaptation when I spoke with him back in late 2023, but I haven’t heard anything since.

Hopefully my concerns end up being meaningless and Chad Stahelski not only makes Blade, but also gives us one of the best Marvel movies of all time. If anyone can do it, I think he can.

Henry Cavill is no stranger to being part of major genre franchises. He’s played Superman and Geralt of Rivia already, and he’s getting ready to play somebody who is as invincible as Superman and as good with a sword as The Witcher when he becomes the Highlander.

Cavill is set to star in the reboot of Highlander from John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski. While Cavill’s character may have something in common with characters he has played before, the director says he sold the star on the role by promising he would do more on screen than he, or most other actors, had done before. Stahelski told The Direct…

From the moment it was confirmed that Chad Stahelski was taking on the directing role for Highlander, we knew that action would be a key part of the new film. This description alone is incredibly exciting, as it teases a character who has trained in various fighting styles over the centuries, so we’ll see him use different ones depending on where in the story we’re set. One assumes by the end, he’s even combined these styles into something new.

This opens up some really interesting possibilities when it comes to action sequences. This will certainly mean some extensive training for Cavill. We've seen the work that Keanu Reeves has done to train for John Wick, and it looks like Cavill will need to train in multiple martial arts styles and, of course, with a sword, to get ready for Highlander

While details about Highlander, including how closely it will stay to the plot of the original, are largely unknown, it’s clear that Stahelski is planning for a franchise, so it’s possible that we won’t see all of this in the first movie. One of the big reasons that a Highlander reboot makes sense is that the original movie clearly never expected to need sequels, which led to the story having to bend over backwards to justify them. A fresh take won't be tied down by all the previous baggage.

Multiple Highlander movies could be set over literally centuries as Cavill’s character lives multiple lives, learning, fighting and experiencing multiple historical eras. That would certainly be quite the character arc.
Stahelski says he hopes to begin filming Highlander in the spring of 2025, which means we’ll likely see the movie sometime in 2026.

It's been 10 years since John Wick came out of retirement and blew movie audiences away. The four-movie franchise only grew with both critical response and box office success, coming to an epic conclusion in John Wick: Chapter 4. And while Chad Stahelski isn’t ruling out a John Wick: Chapter 5, he’s also clear that the most recent movie is still the end of John Wick’s story.

John Wick successfully “won” at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, but he also lost his life in the process. The movie seemed to tell us that John was dead pretty definitively, but the film did technically leave just enough of an opening for John to return if a fifth movie were to happen. Since then we’ve heard John Wick: Chapter 5 is in development, but franchise director Chad Stahelski tells THR there’s no real “plan” for a new movie, though some ideas are being thrown around. He explained…

Chad Stahelski is clear that whatever a John Wick: Chapter 5 might be it “would not be part of that storyline” that ended with Chapter 4, so a theoretical movie that saw John Wick return from the grave would be something new. Perhaps in the same way that Wick came out of retirement following being attacked by mobsters in the first film, something new would cross his path leading him to reveal he wasn’t really dead.

Interestingly, the director admits that one of the reasons a John Wick: Chapter 5 might happen is the money. John Wick: Chapter 4 was the franchise's highest-grossing film, so there’s every reason the studio would want more. It wasn't exactly a shock to learn that John Wick: Chapter 5 was in development. Certainly, one imagines Stahelski himself would be paid handsomely to direct it, and it would likely be hard to pass up the dump truck full of money that would be backed up to his house.

And it seems all but certain that if the movie comes, for whatever reasons might be contrived to do another, the audience will show up. Fans love John Wick and will almost certainly want to see more if and when it happens.

But there are also creative reasons to do it. It sounds like Stahelski has ideas for sequences that could be in a new John Wick movie, even if there isn’t a plan for how they would fit. He specifically mentions a car chase sequence that he has in mind he still wants to do.

Of course, there are also ways for that sort of creativity to be exercised outside of a direct John Wick sequel. Chad Stahelski is now directly overseeing an ever-growing World of John Wick. Ana de Armas is co-starring in the first spinoff film, Ballerina which is currently on the 2025 movie schedule and there are other films, TV series, and even an anime that are currently in development. Whether or not we get another John Wick movie, John Wick will be with us for a long time to come.

Although development continues on John Wick: Chapter 5, the fact of the matter is that Chapter 4’s ending delivered a pretty definitive ending to the story focused on Keanu Reeves’ title character. However, that doesn’t mean we’re done with this world of colorful assassins, as movies like the Ana de Armas-led Ballerina and the TV series Under the High Table are set to flesh out this mythology. Additionally, there’s a prequel movie in the works pointing the spotlight back on ol’ John, and I’m excited about the period of his life it will cover.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first John Wick movie’s release, Chad Stahelski, who co-directed that 2014 flick with David Leitch and directed the following three movies solo, sat down with THR to discuss this property’s past, present and future. This included mentioning a “feature anime” about John Wick which takes place before the events of the movies, and when the interviewer questioned if it would explore the “impossible task” that John had to carry out before he would leave the assassin life behind and marry his wife, the filmmaker responded:

Although he’s not willing to 100% commit to confirming that this anime prequel is about John Wick’s impossible task, it sounds like the project will at least touch on this major event in the character’s life, if not fully explore it. For those who need a refresher, in order to retire from being an assassin, John had to kill all of crime lord Viggo Tarasov’s enemies in a single night. He was only able to accomplish this with the help of Santino D’Antonio, who only agreed to help John in exchange for a marker that he could use to call in a favor at a later date, which ultimately led to the events of John Wick: Chapter 2.

John Wick racked up a massive kill count over the course of his four movies, but from what little has been said about the impossible task, the amount of bodies dropped on that night seem almost legendary. While part of me wishes that this event was better left imagined, I am intrigued by the prospect of it being explored on the big screen, especially through animation rather than live action. That way the action sequences can be depicted in more colorful and outlandish ways befitting the animated medium.

The John Wick franchise first expanded beyond the main film series in 2023 with the limited series The Continental, which can be streamed with a Peacock subscription. Along with this anime prequel, Ballerina and Under the High Table, there’s a spinoff movie centered on Donnie Yen’s Caine in the works. Halle Berry has also expressed interest in reprising Sofia for her own spinoff, though it would need to happen soon. We’ll step back into this world once Ballerina arrives June 6 on the 2025 movies schedule.

2023 was an eventful year for the John Wick franchise, with John Wick: Chapter 4 crushing critically and commercially in theaters, and then the miniseries The Continental becoming available to stream with a Peacock subscription. Following a 2024 hiatus, fans will finally get to return to this world of colorful assassins next year, as the Ana de Armas-led spinoff From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is slated for the 2025 movies schedule. However, new details about the filming of Ballerina have emerged claiming that because franchise co-creator Chad Stahelski had to jump in to assist the spinoff, this will end up impacting the making of the upcoming Highlander reboot.

Chad Stahelski Helped Len Wiseman Ballerina

You may recall that back in February, Chad Stahelski, who’s directed all of the main John Wick movies, shared that he was teaming with Ballerina director Len Wiseman to shoot additional action sequences for the spinoff. It's also now being reported by ScreenRant that Wiseman, at one point, was briefly hospitalized with a serious health condition, prompting Stahelski to step in and help keep the production moving.

Stahelski was tapped by Lionsgate to oversee both the John Wick and Highlander franchises earlier this year, so he was always going to be involved with Ballerina to one degree or another. But with John Wick: Chapter 4 having been so successful, it’s all the more important for Ballerina to succeed rather than flop. It appears that having Stahelski on hand to build upon key action sequences benefitted everyone. Hopefully Ballerina will be a better movie thanks to all of these valuable contributions.

The Ballerina Reshoots Will Reportedly Delay Highlander’s Production

So because Ballerina reportedly went through these upgrades, this is expected to, in turn, affect Highlander, which Chad Stahelski is also set to direct. As a result of the work he did on the first John Wick spinoff movie took so much time, it means the Henry Cavill-starring reboot will roll cameras later than expected. In the words of an insider speaking with The Wrap:

This reported production delay is allegedly the reason why Henry Cavill signed onto the Voltron movie, as room opened up in his schedule. The article also mentions that work is still being done on the Highlander script, so that extra time will hopefully be beneficial for the story. Cavill has been tied to Highlander ever since it was reported he was in talks for the lead role in 2021, though it was another two years until his involvement was officially confirmed. Outside of following the basic premise of a group of immortals who are empowered by an energy called the Quickening and can only die when beheaded, no specific plot details for this reboot have been revealed yet.

Although it was previously said that Highlander would be one of Lionsgate’s 2026 tentpole releases, it’s hard to say if that can still happen or if it will become necessary to push the movie to 2027. As for From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, it opens in theaters on June 6, 2025.

The John Wick franchise is is an odd place following the release of the fourth theatrical installment in March 2023. The ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 saw Keanu Reeves’ title character seemingly dying from his wounds, and while there’s still talk about possibly making Chapter 5, for now, this franchise is without its central protagonist. So instead, other corners of this world are being explored, and word’s come in that a post-Chapter 4-set TV show is in the works that will explore the High Table and features an impressive lineup of talent.

Following the events of Chapter 4, John Wick: The High Table sees the criminal organization finding itself in a “tenuous position” due to John’s actions. This will result in new characters looking to make a name for themselves in this new era, while some of the franchise’s established characters will remain “committed to the old-world order.” The series as a whole promises to “combine new and old and thrust the Wick universe into a new age.”

Along with passing along these plot details, Deadline shared that Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski, who directed all the John Wick movies, are executive producing John Wick: The High Table, and Stahelski will also helm the pilot episode. Additionally, Robert Levine, who co-created the Jeff Bridges-led series The Old Man (which can be streamed with a Hulu subscription) is writing The High Table. Stahelski’s involvement comes as part of his duties of overseeing the entire John Wick franchise across film and TV for Lionsgate, and while there are no plans for Reeves to act in The High Table, he’s reportedly "very hands-on with the project.”

This is will serve as the second John Wick franchise TV show, the first being the Peacock subscription-exclusive The Continental, which was released last fall and followed Winston Scott gaining control of the New York branch of the hotel chain in the 1970s. John Wick: The High Table is also the second post-Chapter 4 project to be announced, as Donnie Yen is set to lead a Caine spinoff movie. Then there’s the Ana de Armas-led spinoff movie Ballerina, which is slated on the 2025 movies schedule and be set between the third and fourth John Wick movies.

It remains to be seen if John Wick: The High Table will end up on Peacock like The Continental or if it will be set up elsewhere, but Deadline stated the project is being shopped around in what’s described as a “competitive situation.” It’s good to hear that Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves are playing key roles in bringing the show to life, and given how well received The Old Man was, Robert Levine is a great get, too. Now I’ll be wondering which characters from the John Wick movies will show up as we dig into how the High Table navigates this new era.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for updates on how John Wick: The High Table is progressing. If you’re now in the mood to re-watch Chapter 4, it can be streamed on Starz.

After years of working as a stuntman/stunt coordinator, Chad Stahelski made his directorial debut in 2014 co-helming John Wick, one of the best action movies, with David Leitch. Stahelski went on to direct the following three John Wick movies on his own, and now he’s branching out with a variety of other filmmaking endeavors, including the Henry Cavill-led Highlander reboot. Now there’s word that Stahelski has lined up yet another movie to work on, and this one sounds especially badass.

Per THR, Chad Stahelski will produce an English-language remake of the Indian Hindi-language movie Kill, which is being put together by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.The original flick, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival back in September and be released theatrically in the United States on July 4, follows an army commando who boards a train to break up an arranged marriage forced upon the love of his life, only to find himself battling a gang of thieves terrorizing the passengers.

Chad Stahelski will produce the Kill remake alongside Jason Spitz and Alex Young for 87Eleven Entertainment. It marks yet another collaboration stemming from the deal between the production company, which Stahelski founded, and Lionsgate. The John Wick movies have all been distributed by the studio, as will Highlander and Ballerina, the latter of which is the John Wick franchise’s first theatrical spinoff. Additionally, it was announced in January that Stahelski has official oversight on the John Wick and Highlander franchises across film and television.

No details were revealed on when the Kill remake will begin shooting, though considering that the original feature is only just about to open, I imagine it will need some time to shine on its own before this other version gets off the ground. Still, it’s good to hear that Stahelski will be able to lend his expertise to the English-language Kill in a producing capacity. This way, a lesser-known director can leave their stamp on the action movie, but also turn to Stahelski for assistance if need be.

As if producing Kill and all his John Wick and Highlander work wasn’t enough, Chad Stahelski’s has a lot of other projects coming down the pipeline, including the upcoming video game movie Ghosts of Tsushima, the Without Remorse sequel Rainbow Six and Netflix’s Black Samurai. What hasn’t been clarified yet if which of these many projects he’ll direct next. That said, Highlander is expected to be one of Lionsgate’s tentpole releases in 2026, so that stands the likeliest chance.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on Kill and everything else Chad Stahelski is working on in the coming years. Learn what’s playing in theaters now with our 2024 movies schedule.

The continuity of the Highlander franchise is... messy. The original film, released in 1986, is a self-contained action/adventure flick, but then the first sequel, 1991's Highlander II: The Quickening, made some wild swings moving the story into the future (the year 2024, actually), and 1994's Highlander: The Final Dimension followed by basically ignoring its predecessor and trying to be a more functional follow-up to the original. After that, the canon didn't exactly get cleaned up with the TV series and 21st century sequels –  but that just means that fans should be very intrigued by Henry Cavill's new comments about how the upcoming reboot is treating the lore (and how his swordplay skills are developing for the production).

The annual theater owner-centric convention known as CinemaCon is in full swing this week in Las Vegas, and Cavill was on the stage at The Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace this morning during the Lionsgate presentation. In addition to discussing his work on the upcoming Guy Ritchie films The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare and In The Grey, the actor also provided a tease about his upcoming work with director Chad Stahelski on the developing Highlander reboot. The Man Of Steel star said,

In the previous Highlander movies, Christopher Lambert starred as Connor MacLeod – an immortal born in Scotland during the early years of the 16th century. He doesn't age, he is immune from all diseases, and he can heal from any injury other than decapitation. The catch is that he is not the only immortal on Earth, and when one of these ageless beings kills another, they absorb their magic, known as the Quickening. When there is only one left, that individual is granted incredible power and knowledge.

It seems that Chad Stahelski's Highlander reboot isn't aiming to be a straight remake of the original – which sees Connor and his mentor Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez (Sean Connery) go toe-to-toe with an antagonist named The Kurgan (Clancy Brown) – and it will instead tell a different story that digs deep into why and how these immortals exist.

Of course, with John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski at the helm of the project, there is a heavy expectation for amazing action to go along with the story, and Henry Cavill is apparently being put through his paces as he prepares for the swordplay choreography. He continued,

One can read that as a reference to Henry Cavill's time playing Geralt of Rivia on the Netflix series The Witcher – as we never did get to see Superman pick up a blade in the DC Extended Universe and he was all guns and fists in Mission: Impossible - Fallout. Fans of the streaming series dug seeing what he did in that fantasy story, but it sounds like he is leveling up his skills for Highlander.

This update should get any established franchise fans excited for the upcoming reboot... but that excitement needs to come with a side order of patience. While Chad Stahelski has been attached to make Highlander since late 2016, the film is still waiting to go into production – though the plan is for cameras to finally roll later this year. The upcoming movie doesn't yet have an official release date from Lionsgate, but stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more exciting updates about the project as well as more of our on-the-ground reporting from CinemaCon 2024.

There has been a planned Highlander reboot in development hell for so long that is has been easy to believe that it may never actually happen. But the most recent iteration of the reboot, which is set to see Highlander directed by John Wick’s Chad Stahelski and to star actor Henry Cavill, has recently taken some legit steps forward. Now Henry Cavill has started to talk about the film, for really the first time. And he’s getting excited.

Cavill himself hasn’t spoken much publicly about the Highlander franchise but with the actor doing the press rounds ahead of the Argylle release date, he’s being asked about the film. While Cavill certainly isn’t revealing a great deal about what we’re going to see in Highlander, he is talking about what he expects to be a very long training process, and he’s getting me psyched about the new movie.

What Henry Cavill Has Said About Training For Highlander 

We know that Lionsgate is currently planning for a Highlander release date sometime in 2026, but while that might indicate that the production wheels won’t be spinning up too soon, Henry Cavill recently told Collider that he expects to begin training for the movie very soon. The reason that training is set to begin so early is apparently that the training process is going to take quite a bit of time. The actor said… 

Henry Cavill has had significant experience swinging a sword after three seasons on The Witcher so on the one hand, you might not think he would need to train quite as much for a movie like Highlander. But we’ve seen the work that Keanu Reeves has done to get ready for the John Wick movies, and he seems to put just as much work in for the sequels. So having done it all before doesn’t necessarily make it easier later.

There is a strong expectation that Highlander is going to be “John Wick with Swords” and that likely means that while Cavill has done swordwork before, he may need to learn it all over again to make it work in a Chad Stahelski-style fight sequence. 

Cavill Promises Highlander will be “A Serious Ride.” 

Highlander is an interesting franchise because it’s one that has built a lot of fans, despite the fact that, even those fans will admit that a lot of the existing franchise isn’t that great. Director Chad Stahelski has celebrated the potential of Highlander to be great, and he’s right. A Highlander reboot is a great idea specifically because it can be greatly improved with a second chance. 

What we’ll actually get with the new Highlander is anybody’s guess. Henry Cavill isn’t revealing any details yet, but when asked what we should expect from the movie by Comicbook.com, the actor said… 

As one of those Highlander fans who has always wanted to see the franchise be more than it was, this is exciting. Stahelski is a self-professed Highlander fan and it sounds like Cavill is as well. We may still have to wait quite some time to see what the new Highlander is, but it looks to be in good hands.  

There are long-running movie franchises, and then there’s Star Wars. George Lucas changed the film world forever with A New Hope, and entire generations of moviegoers have been brought up on the galaxy far, far away. Said fans are eager to see what upcoming Star Wars movies are coming now that the Skywalker Saga is behind us, while the franchise grows thanks to live-action shows available with a Disney+ subscription. It turns out that John Wick’s Chad Stahelski wants a Star Wars movie, and I’m honestly so in.

Lucasfilm recently announced a new trilogy of Star Wars movies, ones that are set in very different points in the timeline. And future big screen outings should seemingly be able to make bold narrative swings without worrying about the overall franchise’s story. But could Lucasfilm really bring on John Wick visionary Chad Stahelski? He's interested, telling Happy Sad Confused host Josh Horowitz:

Stahelski behind the camera for a Star Wars movie sounds like a dream come true for Wick fans, who have spent years watching Keanu Reeves dispatch countless enemies. One can only imagine how his perspective and aptitude for thrilling action sequences would funcion if there were lightsabers and blasters involved rather than guns. And I so want to see what that would look like.

Of course, there’s no actual indication that this partnership with Lucasfilm is happening. The studio is keeping busy thanks to the shows on Disney+, as well as the developing trilogy that’s already in the works. Add in Taika Waititi’s long-awaited Star Wars movie and there’s already a bunch of pots on the stove. Still, one can’t help but wonder about the future.

Since the release of The Rise of Skywalker, the studio seems to be focused largely on expanding the franchise with TV content. But fans have spent years watching the Star Wars movies in order, and are itching for a chance to return to that universe on the big screen. Hopefully we get more information sooner rather than later.

Even without Star Wars, Chad Stahelski is no doubt keeping busy with all things John Wick. While fans have ranked the John Wick movies, it also recently expanded to TV with The Continental, which is available with a Peacock subscription. Still, I’d love to see him handle some lightsaber content, especially on the big screen.

Star Wars is streaming on Disney+. Be sure to check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.  

If you consider yourself a fan of the Highlander franchise, then you are something of a glutton for punishment. It’s hard to imagine how anybody -- myself included -- is a fan of the series of films and TV series considering that the vast majority of it has been pretty bad. And yet, here I am, incredibly excited that we’re getting a new Highlander movie starring Henry Cavill, and the more Chad Stahelski talks about it, the more excited I am getting.

The great thing about Highlander is that the idea behind the franchise is brilliant. The problem is the execution has never really been there. However, that’s exactly why hearing Chad Stahelski talk about his plans for the Highlander franchise is so exciting. He seems to understand the potential the franchise has, and as he recently described to ScreenRant, he wants to make more Highlander because he loves the franchise and thinks he can upgrade it. The director explained…

The benefit of hindsight will be key to the future of Highlander as a franchise. Highlander is a movie that is ripe for reboot not because of the original franchise’s massive success, but because of its failures. The ideas are there, Immortals living for centuries, having to hide themselves, while fighting each other to the death and signing on Henry Cavil for the gig was perfect casting. The biggest problem was that the original film was never meant to spawn sequels, so when they came, they had to twist the mythology into knots to make it work, and the stories that came out were not good. Highlander can now learn from those mistakes.

It sounds like Stahelski’s concept is to take his time. Rather than one Highlander movie set to tell us the entire life story of a man who lived for centuries, the series of films will follow his life. It’s not unlike the John Wick franchise as the characters exist in a world where countless stories could be told, and Stahelski sees the connection between the two franchises as well, saying…  

It seems like Chad Stahelski is going to take the best parts of what has been created in the Highlander world, and maybe add some new stuff to it, and make a story that works. He sees the franchise as having a lot of potential, which, it has to be agreed, has never been realized previously. he continues...

The idea sounds great, but as with all the other failed Highlander stories, it’s all going to come down to the execution.  There will be plenty of time to figure all that out, as the Highlander reboot apparently isn't coming out soon.

In 2023, John Wick is one of the greatest action franchises in Hollywood, which so far consists of four movies and a TV show, and has more projects on the way. But back in 2014, the title assassin played by Keanu Reeves was an unknown commodity, arriving in a month that also delivered movies like Gone Girl, Whiplash and Birdman. In fact, director Chad Stahelski was convinced the first John Wick movie would go “straight to video”; instead, it ended up making nearly nine figures.

Stahelski, who co-helmed John Wick with David Leitch (although he is credited as a producer), reflected on his initial expectation for how the movie would be delivered to and received by the masses while chatting with Yahoo. In his words:

Oh, how wrong Chad Stahelski and his cohorts were about John Wick. Not only was this movie not relegated to the direct-to-video market, but the tale about this retired assassin who armed himself back up to exact revenge on all those remotely associated with the people who killed his puppy earned a lot of positive critical reception. And then, as the cherry on top of this proverbial sundae, John Wick ultimately made a little over $86 million worldwide off a reported budget of between $20-$30 million. Not only does that qualify as a financial success, it was just $14 million shy of reaching $100 million.

Now, the John Wick journey could have simply been a one-and-done affair, with Keanu Reeves leaving the assassin behind him after that sole outing and finding other ways to entertain the public. Well, he ended up doing that anyways in the years to follow with movies like Toy Story 4, Bill & Ted Face the Music and The Matrix Resurrections, but more importantly, Lionsgate decided to expand the John Wick mythology into a film series. Three sequels followed, all of which were also directed by Stahelski, excelled critically and did gangbusters at the worldwide box office, with Chapter 4 standing as the cream of the crop with its $440.1 million haul earlier this year.

Although John Wick: Chapter 4’s ending seemed to definitively conclude the film series, especially considering Reeves had asked for years for John to be “definitively killed,” there is still talk about the possibility of Chapter 5 being made. Whether or not that happens, as indicated earlier, we’re now in cinematic universe territory with this franchise, as Peacock subscribers can stream the prequel show The Continental, Ballerina is slated on the 2024 movies calendar, and there are also plans for a John Wick anime series and another live-action show that will, among other things, explore The High Table “a little bit.”

If there is a universe where John Wick not only didn’t spawn a film series but was sent direct-to-video, I feel for the people in that reality. But for us here, the first three John Wick movies can be found on Peacock, while Chapter 4 can be streamed on Starz, which you can purchase as an add-on for your Hulu subscription.

There have been a lot of great John Wick scenes over the course of the past decade, with each movie in the Keanu Reeves action franchise featuring at least a handful of moments that would earn a spot in an Oscar clip if he were nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. But there is one moment from John Wick: Chapter 4 that director Chad Stahelski would love to see be included.

CinemaBlend recently sat down for an interview with the stuntman-turned-director to discuss everything from the developing Highlander reboot, to his highly anticipated Ghost of Tushima adaptation, as well as a number of other topics related to John Wick: Chapter 4 – like a ridiculous story involving dog pee and bullet holes. During this chat, we asked Stahelski what he’d like to see in Reeves’ Oscar clip if he was nominated, and he began with a tongue-in-cheek answer:

After joking about the number of “Yeahs” he’d think make the cut in regards to Reeves’ limited amount of dialogue in John Wick: Chapter 4, the director offered up an incredibly emotional scene that he thought would be best suited for the clip. Stahelski explained that there is a moment early on in the wonderful Osaka Continental sequence where HIroyuki Sanada’s Shimazu Koji tells Wick that Charon (played by the late Lance Reddick) has been killed.

Instead of lashing out in rage, John Wick just tilts his head and provides a nuanced and subtle reaction to the death of his friend. And this, according to Stahelski, is a testament of the actor’s ability to provide emotion with nothing more than a look or slight reaction. Said the filmmaker,

Stahelski, whose history with Reeves goes back a quarter century (he was the actor’s stunt-double in The Matrix), compared the actor’s ability to “say more without dialogue” to what you would see in classic Samurai movies or even beloved silent films where the actors had to emote and progress the story without any dialogue.

In fact, Keanu Reeves only says 380 words across 103 lines of dialogue throughout John Wick: Chapter 4, according to the Wall Street Journal, which is wild to think about considering his character is in pretty much every scene in the nearly three-hour movie. This lack of dialogue proves to be one of the movie’s coolest aspects, especially with how the actor is able say so much despite barely speaking. 

Though we don’t yet know if Keanu Reeves will be nominated for an Oscar or what the future holds for his iconic character following the John Wick: Chapter 4 ending, we still have the upcoming Ballerina spinoff to look forward to on the 2024 movie schedule. And who knows, maybe we’ll finally see a Best Stunt Oscar category at some point in the future.

Ladies and gentlemen, movie lovers and Queen fans, get ready to channel your inner Freddie Mercury because we’ve got some electrifying news. The Highlander reboot is gathering momentum, and it seems the Hall of Fame rock band’s music is set to return. Let me hear your best Freddie Mercury 1985 Live Aid “EEEEOOOO,” because I am completely pumped about this news!

The director of the long-in-development Highlander remake, which has taken a significant step forward, confirmed to The Wrap that his movie is shaping up to be something truly magical. Chad Stahelski, who is the exciting director choice, previously revealed to CinemaBlend that the immortal warriors and their epic battles will return to the big screen with an "upgrade." Still, the creative team behind the project intends to utilize the iconic Queen soundtrack from the original but one with one caveat. As the filmmaker put it: 

The legendary London-formed band played a pivotal role in the inception of the original movie by composing and performing a stellar lineup of songs. Their musical contributions were so profound that they even released an album titled A Kind of Magic in 1986, which served as the official soundtrack for the film. So it's definitely exciting and fitting that their tunes would remain in play for this upcoming reimagining. According to the film’s director, the music isn’t all fans of the original flick should be pumped about either. He also explained:

For those who didn't grow up in the '80s, let me introduce you to the Highlander lore. This epic tale revolves around Connor MacLeod, a Scottish Highlander from the 16th century, who miraculously survives a deadly clash with the formidable Kurgan. However, he's banished from his village and branded a witch. His life turns upside down when he encounters the enigmatic swordsman, Ramírez, who reveals that MacLeod is immortal, only vulnerable to beheading. Immortals wage secret battles, and, as the story unfolds, we learn that the last few survivors are destined to engage in a climactic showdown known as the Gathering in 1985, set in the heart of New York. MacLeod's mission? To stop his arch-nemesis, the ruthless Kurgan, from claiming the ultimate Prize.

Now, if this sounds like a crazy rollercoaster of a plot, that's because it is! Amidst all the madness, one element stands out and stays etched in this fan's memories – the incredible Queen soundtrack that graced the original film. Just try listening to Princes of the Universe without feeling an adrenaline rush!

Chad Stahelski has also discussed the decision to cast Henry Cavill in the role of the titular immortal hero, discussing why Cavill is the ideal actor to carry the torch from Christopher Lambert. There are ambitious plans for the reboot, and there have been hints to the possibility of a new trilogy that could span the same plot and timeline as the original film. This approach would enable viewers to witness the evolution of Cavill's character and grant each installment the opportunity to explore the intricate universe of the Immortals in greater depth.

This ambitious revamp has been on the industry's radar since as far back as 2008, with Chad Stahelski taking the reins in late 2016. While we're still in the dark regarding the extent of the connections this new movie will have with its predecessors, one thing is certain: the music will rock you! And I'm here for it!

So prepare to raise your swords and your voices because the Highlander reboot is on the horizon, bringing Queen along for the ride. Can I get another EEEEOOOO!? The 1986 film is available to stream for everyone with a Prime Video subscription. Also, check out our schedule of upcoming movies to see what's headed to a theater near you.

Whenever each movie in the John Wick franchise comes out, you always know there is going to be insane action set pieces, violent deaths in all manner of ways and some scene-stealing dogs. Sometimes, a scene even comes along that features all three aspects, like the absurdly awesome Paris sequence in John Wick: Chapter 4 that sees Keanu Reeves’ titular assassin make his way through busy streets, national monuments, a dilapidated home and the longest set of stairs outside of an M.C. Escher drawing.

But the most ridiculous aspect of that sequence doesn’t include John Wick or Bill Skarsgård’s Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont, but it does involve dog pee, bullet holes and Marko Zaror’s Chidi, and a great story from director Chad Stahelski.

I recently had a chance to catch up with Stahelski for a chat that covered everything from his Highlander reboot to the latest on his Ghost of Tsushima movie, and so much about the John Wick universe. When I asked about certain scenes that proved to be more difficult than expected, the stuntman-turned-director opened up about the challenge of working with dogs on set, especially when he’s trying to get Mr. Nobody’s (Shamier Anderson) Belgian Malinois to pee on Chidi’s dead body:

This answer, specifically the “pee in my bullet hole” part, brought the interview to a brief pause as I attempted to figure out how to go from there. Luckily, Stahelski quickly joked about it following a beat:

Stahelski also revealed that for whatever reason, animals and weather have always been the trickiest things to work out when making his movies, describing them as the “bane of our existence” for the production crew. But when the “cool gag” works, it makes it all the more better.

From the beginning, Stahelski knew the Paris sequence, specifically the section where John Wick has to fight an endless swarm of gunmen at the Arc de Triomphe, would be a major challenge to overcome. With cars driving in and out of multiple lanes of traffic and a number of other factors, the planning process for this sequence required the director and his team to consider the logistics, the methodical aspects of it and the cleverness of the stunts. But no surprise here, it all worked and gave audiences one of the franchise’s best set pieces.

We still don’t know what the future holds for John Wick 5, but if Chad Stahelski, Keanu Reeves and company are able to figure it out, we’re surely in store for more dogs, bullet holes and, quite possibly, dog pee in bullet holes. 

I have a long list of favorite games from the PlayStation 4 era like Marvel’s Spider-Man, Horizon Zero Dawn, and The Last of Us Part II. However, there is one Sony exclusive that captured my imagination (and hours upon hours of my free time) more than the rest, and that was Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima. 

Ever since I picked up the game inspired by classic Samurai movies back in the summer of 2020 and spent the better part of three months diving into its rich world, lore, and story centering on Jin Sakai, I’ve anxiously awaited a film adaptation. So, when I found out that John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski was the one leading the charge, I became extremely optimistic about the upcoming video game movie. 

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Stahelski to discuss everything from the John Wick movies to his planned Highlander reboot, and I wasn’t going to let the conversation end before I brought up Ghost of Tsushima. It turns out the stuntman-turned-director was so taken aback by the game upon first playing it with creative partner Alex Young, he hit up Sucker Punch to talk about it:

After watching John Wick: Chapter 4 and its absolutely stunning Osaka Continental sequence, it’s easy to pick up on Stahelski’s admiration of the culture, as the extensive, and incredibly violent, set piece honors multiple aspects of Japanese life and history. 

When I asked him about the Ghost of Tsushima development process, Stahelski gave me an update that has me even more fired up, which is saying something because I’ve been OBSESSED with this project since hearing about it. What got me even more pumped was what came next:

It’s hard to say when Ghost of Tsushima will come to fruition, but this update about its script and development process should be seen as a great sign of things to come. Another thing we’ll have to wait to find out is if Stahelski’s adaptation will be in black-and-white like the game’s optional “Kurosawa” mode, which pays tribute to the legendary filmmaker responsible for many of the great Samurai films. And who knows, maybe we’ll see the movie pop up on the 2024 movie calendar before everything is said and done.

With the recent news that the long-in-development Highlander reboot has taken a significant step forward, fans of the franchise are likely getting more than a little excited, or at the very least more than a little curious, about just what to expect from the new movie following the adventures of immortal humans who chop each other’s heads off. Chad Stahelski, who is set to direct the new film, is also a big Highlander fan, though he admits the series needs a bit of an upgrade.

CinemaBlend’s own Phillip Sledge recently had a chance to talk with Chad Stahelski, and he asked what the director’s plans were for the movie, which is set to star Henry Cavill as the immortal hero. Stahelski is clearly excited to see the movie progress forward, and he’s a self-professed fan of the original, but he sees the opportunity to do something more with a reboot. He explained…

There’s little argument that the original Highlander franchise saw diminishing returns as it went on. While the first movie was enough of a success that it spawned sequels, that first movie also didn’t lend itself to more material, which made it difficult when multiple attempts were made to crowbar in more characters and plot after the fact. This resulted in Highlander 2, one of the worst sequels ever made.

Indications are that a new Highlander trilogy of movies might essentially cover the same plot and timeframe of the entire original movie, showing Henry Cavill’s character grow and change over centuries, allowing each movie to dive deeper into the world of Immortals. We never see Christopher Lamber’s Connor McLoud have any serious relationships with other Immortal characters beyond his mentor, but it sounds like the reboot will deal with a lot more of that. Stahelski continued… 

Another way the new Highlander may be looking to change things up is by including more non-Immortal characters as antagonists in the film. In the original franchise, most humans didn’t know Immortals existed, and those who did were sympathetic to them. But in the reboot, we may see that Immortals have to deal with mortal threats, as well as those from their own kind. The director said…  

It is a great tagline and a potentially great world for a movie franchise to build on. It looks like the new Highlander will try and tell a story that fans will love, while also making the world the Immortals live in far more compelling. Now we just need to wait for its arrival. 

A reboot of the Highlander film franchise has been in development for years, and there talks of a remake date as far back as 2008. When Henry Cavill was announced as the new  Highlander lead, it looked like the project might be getting some traction, but that was two years ago, and we’re still waiting. But now it looks like the movie that director Chad Stahelski indicated would be John Wick with swords may really be happening, and I cannot wait.

Deadline reports that Lionsgate is looking to open the new Highlander movie to investors, and said the project is hoping to start filming sometime next year. This is the closest a Highlander reboot film has come to actually happening. John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski has been part of Highlander since 2016, but aside from the casting of Cavill, nothing has happened with it.

I’ve always loved the Highlander franchise, despite the fact that a lot of Highlander is pretty bad -- with the exception of the original film, and a fairly solid TV series. Highlander 2 was so terrible they gave it the Snyder Cut treatment decades before the Snyder Cut. But I’ve always felt that Highlander had the potential for a reboot. The world it creates is open to all sorts of possibilities that the movies never really properly explored.

I’m also a massive John Wick fan. As modern action franchises go, there are none I love more, so the fact that Chad Stahelski is at the helm has had me praying this movie would get made before he disappeared like all the previous directors. We will get some absolutely incredible action sequences in this movie, that much is essentially guaranteed. I love a good movie sword fight, and the potential of seeing many of them, all with the style and energy of a John Wick gunfight, is just too exciting to pass up.

Chad Stahelski also knows a thing or two about creating worlds, as the expansive world of John Wick is one of the most entertaining things about the franchise. The world of Immortals in Highlander, similar to the universe of John Wick, is very mysterious, with the audience knowing just enough to keep things interesting. 

If it is looking at filming in the next few months we’ll likely hear a lot more about casting, which could give us an indication just what sort of movie we’re going to be getting. Dave Bautista was once rumored to be playing the film’s villain, but that was so long ago that it’s unlikely he’s still attached, though one could certainly do a lot worse. 

There have been other false starts with this Highlander movie before. In the end, I won’t be entirely confident we’re getting this movie until production begins, which, of course, requires the actors’ strike to end. However, the studio is ready to sell the movie despite the strike happening, which would seem to indicate Lionsgate is confident this movie is happening, and I can’t wait. 

The John Wick series is presently in a peculiar place. The most recent film, John Wick: Chapter 4, is by far the biggest blockbuster hit in the franchise, having earned over $400 million worldwide... and yet, the film notably ends with the titular character's death. Because of this killer finale, we don't actually know if we will ever see a John Wick: Chapter 5, with the future of the big screen saga in the hands of director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves – but if the sequel does get made, the former will definitely be ready for it, as he apparently has notebooks full of cool ideas to execute.

Inverse recently spoke with Stahelski about his work on the John Wick films, and it was while discussing the expansion of the franchise and the release of The Continental that the filmmaker commented on what may come next. He describes John Wick: Chapter 4 as a "swan song," and the narrative certainly works as a finale for the character, but he adds that if a new story comes along, he has already imagined ways to make it shine. Said the director,

At the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, it's heavily implied that Keanu Reeves' eponymous protagonist dies following his duel with Donnie Yen's Kane... but any seasoned pop culture fan note that we never actually see him die/see a body. The last scene of the blockbuster, not including the badass post-credits sequence, features Winston (Ian McShane) and The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) standing over Wick's grave, but that could easily be read as metaphorical: it's perhaps the idea of "John Wick" that has died, and the man is now existing beyond that legend.

A sequel would add clarity to what exists as intentional ambiguity, and it doesn't sound like that interests Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves at the moment. That will change if they come up with a narrative that they are passionate about and makes sense as a follow-up to the conclusion of John Wick: Chapter 4, but that idea hasn't surfaced yet. The studio will certainly be keeping the pressure on, as the 2023 hit film outgrossed its predecessor in the series by over $100 million worldwide.

Fans of John Wick will just have to be patient for now... though we won't actually have to wait all that long before we see The Baba Yaga back on the big screen. The next feature addition to the action franchise canon will be Ballerina starring Ana de Armas, and it's been confirmed that Keanu Reeves has a small role/cameo (the story takes place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4). The film will also feature Ian McShane's return as Winston and Lance Reddick's final performance as Charon. Lionsgate has scheduled the Len Wiseman-directed movie is set to arrive in theaters on June 7, 2024.

The John Wick movies are incredible productions of over-the-top action. With each ensuing film, Keanu Reeves' character has been put through increasingly insane battles for survival. By this point, Wick's fight to stay alive has become comical in its severity, but franchise director Chad Stahelski says that’s pretty much the point. 

Speaking with Inverse, Chad Stahelski takes issue with critics who fault the John Wick franchise for its lack of basis in reality, He says he and star Keanu Reeves are quell aware that what happens in these movies is unreal, and that’s very much by design. He compares John Wick surviving the impossible to Bugs Bunny doing the same, saying…  

A lot of movies strive for an element of realism, even when their story is complete fiction. But let’s be honest, you could never accuse the John Wick franchise of that. The films create a world where an entire government and economy of secret assassins exists in plain sight, but entirely unknown to the world that’s not part of it. And it’s brilliant, because once you’ve gone that far, making a main character who is the greatest assassin ever who can murder hundreds of people and somehow survive is not the craziest thing in your movie.

While Chad Stahelski says he’s “in the joke,” the joke itself is pretty brutal. It usually involves people being brutally murdered, or John Wick himself having the absolute hell beaten out of him. This is also by design according to the director. He acknowledges that there is humor in suffering, but only when you really push it to extremes, so part of the reason that the movies go so big is to make that humor work. Stahelski continues…

Whether we’ll get a chance to be in on the joke again, we still don’t know. Stahelski says in the same interview that they have ideas for the John Wick franchise that could keep the movies coming for years, so John Wick 5 is still possible. This is despite the fact that the John Wick: Chapter 4 ending gave us a place to stop that (while it leaves the situation for John Wick ambiguous) would probably be the best possible place to end things.  

However, we do know we'll see Keanu Reeves at least one more time in the upcoming John Wick spinoff Ballerina, and we can only hope the new film will continue the franchise tradition of going over the top and making us laugh at others' terrible pain.

Bill Skarsgård knows his way around villains, as evidenced by performances like Pennywise in the IT movies, Kro in Eternals and, most recently, the Marquis Vincent de Gramont in John Wick: Chapter 4. With that last example, it was the Marquis whom led the charge to kill Keanu Reeves’ title character for defying the High Table. Along with being a sharp dresser, the Marquis stood out for his distinct accent, but that aspect of the character caught flak from audiences, so much so that director Chad Stahelski has responded to the criticism.

In addition to addressing the prospects of John Wick: Chapter 5 happening while visiting the Happy Sad Confused podcast hosted by Josh Horowitz, Stahelski spent some time clearing up just what was going on with Skarsgård’s accent in the 2023 new movie release. As you’ll read below, the filmmaker clarified that the actor wasn’t trying to do a standard French accent for the Marquis, but something a little different:

It’s hardly shocking that this man who holds the Marquis rank speaks French, but per Chad Stahelski’s discussions with Bill Skarsgård, Vincent de Gramont doesn’t actually hail from France. That’s not to say that you still can’t take issue with the way he sounds, but it was never their intention for the character to sound like a French native, only that he spoke the language well. So those of you who watched Chapter 4 and were dissatisfied with Skarsgård’s French accent can rest easy now knowing that’s not what he was going for, although it certainly would have been nice if the movie had made his Cajun background more explicit.

Skarsgård’s involvement in John Wick: Chapter 4 was first reported in June 2021, and the following month, he explained that he joined the sequel because he’s a fan of “these kinds of over-the-top, exploitive action movies.” Unfortunately for the Marquis Vincent de Gramont, he learned the hard way that one should never cross John Wick under any circumstances, regardless of his circumstances. 

The Marquis foolishly agreed to take Caine’s place at the end of a duel against John, one in which all of the main protagonist’s obligations to the High Table would be wiped away if he won. After Caine severely injured John with one of his shots, the Marquis swooped in to administer the killing blow, not realizing John hadn’t fired his gun yet for that round. The main antagonist paid for his overconfidence with his life.

However, John Wick’s victory also came with a seemingly fatal cost, as following the duel, he succumbed to his many injuries, including Caine’s final fired shot at him. By the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, Ian McShane’s Winston and Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King are shown visiting Wick’s gravesite, thus bringing an end to the John Wick saga. Or at least, that’s how it seems by the end of the movie, but with John Wick: Chapter 5 still potentially on the table, we’ll have to keep waiting to learn if John is indeed dead or he faked his demise. It’s probably safe to assume, though, that the Marquis Vincent de Gramont is resting six feet under, weird accent and all.

Bill Skarsgård’s next movie, Boy Kills World, will premiere September 9 at the Toronto International Film Festival, and he’s also attached to lead The Crow reboot and play Count Orlok in Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu remake. As for the John Wick franchise, it will expand this fall with The Continental event series accessible to Peacock subscribers, followed by the Ballerina spinoff hitting theaters next summer.

It’s been five months since John Wick: Chapter 4, so it’s safe to say openly at this point (although here’s a SPOILER WARNING for due diligence) that the 2023 new movie release seemingly concludes the story of Keanu Reeves’ title assassin for good. The fourth John Wick movie ends with Ian McShane’s Winston and Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King visited the character’s grave, so one would think the John Wick film series is over now, right? Not necessarily, as John Wick: Chapter 5 remains an ongoing topic of conversation, and the latest has come in from director Chad Stahelski on the prospects of such a project.

Stahelski stopped by the Happy Sad Confused podcast to chat about his work on the John Wick movies, among other topics, with host Josh Horowitz. Like Reeves, the filmmaker has been part of John Wick since the beginning, having co-directed the first movie with David Leitch and helmed the following three installments solo. So if anyone would know if John Wick: Chapter 5 was happening, it’d be him, but here’s what Stahelski had to say about if this hypothetical movie will move forward:

Initially John Wick: Chapter 5 was a sure thing, as it was announced in August 2020 that it and Chapter 4 were going to shoot back-to-back. However, by March 2021, Lionsgate moved forward with Chapter 4 as a standalone production, leaving Chapter 5’s fate in question. Naturally talk about what’s happening with John Wick 5 have kicked up a notch since Chapter 4 arrived, but as Stahelski laid out in this latest interview, not only do he and Reeves not have any concrete ideas on what to do for another sequel, they’re going to focus on other projects for the time being.

Lionsgate is certainly game for John Wick: Chapter 5 to happen, with Joe Drake, the studio’s president, saying that there’s a “will” and “openness” to it, albeit “no guarantee.” Considering that Chapter 4 was not only critically well received like its predecessors, but is also the highest-grossing entry yet with $432.2 million worldwide, you can’t fault the studio executive for wanting to keep this action-packed ride going. Maybe that day will come, maybe it won’t, but for now, Chad Stahelski is content to direct his filmmaking skills to other things, including the Rainbow Six movie, the long-awaited Highlander reboot and a film adaptation of Ghosts of Tsushima.

The good news is even with John Wick: Chapter 5’s uncertain fate, the John Wick franchise itself isn’t going anywhere. Next month will see the release of The Continental, the 1970s-set event series following a young Winston that will be available for Peacock subscribers to stream. Then Ballerina will come out in June 2024, and Keanu Reeves will reprise John in the spinoff since it takes place between Chapter 3: Parabellum and 4.

50 years ago, Bruce Lee’s iconic action movie Enter the Dragon made an impression on the world that’s still felt today. An iconic film with an equally landmark performance from Lee, it’s still remembered as a watershed moment in the world of martial arts adventures. Thanks to a new essay by John Wick: Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski, we now know how the famed karate star influenced Keanu Reeves’ character in that action showdown franchise. 

Through a tribute penned for Empire’s celebration of Enter the Dragon, Stahelski poured his heart out in honor of the 1973 film’s new 4K restoration. As it turns out, what he loved about Bruce Lee and his role contributed in an exciting way to Baba Yaga himself. Here’s how Chad Stahelski tied these two action icons together: 

If one were to to sum up Keanu Reeves’ universe sparking character, that last quoted statement would probably be the best. Though as we saw in John Wick: Chapter 4’s ending, that same message could be translated into what was written on the supposedly late Mr. Wick’s tombstone: “Loving Husband.” Indeed, watching Mr. Wick fighting through increasingly difficult odds to avenge his slain dog, and mitigate the consequences as a result, is potentially one of the largest cases of fighting for what’s right. 

On the more realistic side of the coin, you can see the same dedication Bruce Lee put into his training exhibited in Keanu Reeves’ physical training, as well as his way with weapons. Even that trademark personality that the John Wick director cites as a contributing factor to his Enter the Dragon fandom is exuded in lines like, “Yeah, I think I’m back.”

As much as Chad Stahelski talks about breaking down the fights of Lee’s epic picture, the man certainly understood all the other moving pieces that went into the mix. That’s part of why a franchise as young as John Wick became a part of the conversation over the best action movies known to humanity. But let's not forget that much as Bruce Lee's films equally cashed in on his personality and physicality, the same can be said for Keanu Reeves and the John Wick saga.

One could certainly theorize that in 50 years time, the Wick movies will be considered in the same breath as Enter the Dragon, but ultimately only the progression of history will reveal that answer. For now, you action fans can get your hand on John Wick: Chapter 4. 

The film is currently available for rental or purchase, through digital or physical media. However, if you’re waiting for the movie’s streaming debut, Starz will be premiering this latest bone breaker on September 26th. Also, for those of you looking to revisit Enter the Dragon, that adventure is currently streaming for those who possess a Max subscription. 

The last time the Oscars proposed a new category was in 2018 in the form of Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film. (People were not too happy about the proposed category, and it was eventually discarded.) Though with a lot of these “popular movies” from major studios utilizing stunt work more and more, many have been campaigning for an award recognizing stunts. Now, John Wick’s Chad Stahelski, who's called for the Oscars to add a stunt category, has weighed in on whether this will finally come to fruition. 

It goes without saying that stunt work is incredibly important, and crews have only managed to up the ante with their work in recent years. For an example, you can look to John Wick: Chapter 3’s challenging stunt that has Keanu Reeves’ titluar character trying to shoot someone on horseback There's also Tom Cruise’s epic motorcycle sequence in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, which is incredibly impressive. So where do things stand when it comes to a stunt-centric Academy Award honor? Chad Stahelski, who directed the 2023 movie release of John Wick: Chapter 4 and the franchise's previous installments, discussed that with Comic Book Movie.com. In his estimation, there's been no movement up to this point because serious discussions just hadn't been conducted:

So communication has seemingly been one of the elements that's been needed to help get the ball rolling. When John Wick co-director David Leitch was once asked why stunt performers aren’t eligible for the Oscars, he couldn’t provide a concrete answer. Leitch figured that stunt people are behind the camera, making them harder to recognize compared to their lead star counterparts. Yet he still believed that given how collaborative filmmaking is, a stunt should still receive it nonetheless. 

Chad Stahelski -- one of Hollywood’s most legendary stuntmen -- has expressed a lot of feelings on the Oscar category's absence. He's argued that if creative departments like hair, makeup, and costumes get recognized, then so should the stunt department. He's done a considerable amount to get stunt work recognized by the Academy. Though he previously mentioned, that progress was moving slowly, it sounds like things may be turning a corner:

The cerebral filmmaker continued to explain that stunts are not as broad a category as one might believe. There are plenty of subsections within it, including choreography, action sequences, stunt ensembles, the stunt coordinator and more. This topic has been discussed for quite some time, and those who've chimed in about it seem incredibly passionate. A fair number of people would probably agree when I say that stunt people are some of the unsung heroes of the film industry, as they take some serious hits while on the job. With that, they could certainly stand to get their flowers.

Calls for a new category could very well ramp in the near future, especially since action movies have been taking over the film industry in recent years. And with Chad Stahelski and some of Hollywood’s biggest stars pushing for stunt people to get their long-deserved praise, it's certainly not impossible for them to achieve their goal.

Since the events of John Wick: Chapter 4 put the Keanu Reeves-led franchise land in a particularly tight jam, there continue to be questions about where things could go next. There are certainly an infinite number of storytelling possibilities, as the four films have laid out a pretty expansive universe. Director Chad Stahelski knows this potentially more than anyone else, and he’s shown it throughout the press tour for this latest action movie masterpiece. Amid the recent uncertainty, Stahelski fed into it with some remarks about whether or not Sofia Al-Azwar, who is played brilliantly by the one and only Halle Berry, could return to the Wick universe. 

As he took part in The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the stunt performer-turned-director approached the subject while talking about the actress' enthusiasm when she first signed onto the franchise. Apparently, her work on John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum was exciting enough to keep her hungry for more; as Chad Stahelski told Rogen the following: 

It’s actually not that surprising that the Academy Award winner would want to return to her role as Sofia, the manager of the Casablanca location of Continental in Keanu Reeves’ third outing as Baba Yaga. Chad Stahelski actually admitted that this veteran of the James Bond movies actually had to be “slowed down” in her first weeks of training, as she was eager to get started. 

However, despite being an eager pupil, there were some hard times during her John Wick experience. Not only did the Catwoman alum's first training session cause her to break out in hives, but there was also the issue of her breaking three ribs due to stunt work performed amid filming. So the fact that she has those stories to tell and is still excited to return to the fold speaks volumes about how much she enjoyed playing the role of Sofia.

As Chad Stahelski mentioned above, the “satellite projects” of the John Wick universe are all beginning to introduce new characters to help broaden the sandbox. Ana de Armas’ Ballerina, as well as the streaming prequel The Continental are going to be the test cases as to whether this enterprise works for the fans or not. So should success knock on Mr. Wick’s door yet again, Halle Berry just might get to return to Sofia after all.

At the time of this writing, you can catch up with Ms. Berry’s previous exploits in this franchise through Tubi, as the first three John Wick installments are streaming on that platform. Meanwhile, if you haven’t seen John Wick: Chapter 4, that adventure is now yours to rent or own on digital or physical media. Careful though, it’s a killer.

The John Wick franchise is growing. While John Wick: Chapter 5 remains a big question mark given the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4, the world of the film will soon be expanded on the big screen with Ballerina, a spinoff starring Ana de Armas and directed by Len Wiseman. The movie is confirmed to be in continuity, with specific connections to the existing films (particularly John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum), but one thing that the project doesn’t have is the specific involvement of director Chad Stahelski, who has made a point of being hands-off when it comes to the developing canon expansion after directing all four John Wick features.

Ballerina was a project that I had the chance to discuss with Stahelski earlier this year when I spoke with him during the pre-release press day for John Wick: Chapter 4. I asked about his work on the upcoming movie and his experience collaborating with Ana de Armas, but he told me that he has made a choice not to be fully immersed in the making of the film. Said the filmmaker,

Continuing, Chad Stahelski explained that letting Ballerina be a project free of his direct influence was a choice that he made because he feels that it is a thing that is healthy for the expansion of the John Wick franchise. He had discussions with Len Wiseman about the rules (or lack of rules) in the continuity, and he is credited as a producer, but after he shared his perspective, he let the director go off and make the movie:

Ballerina will feature Ana de Armas as Rooney, a character audiences first met played by actress Unity Phelan in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. The story will center on the protagonist’s own mission for revenge, and the movie will feature a number of standout characters from the John Wick franchise. Anjelica Huston and Keanu Reeves will be in the movie reprising their respective canonical roles, and I spoke with Ian McShane and Lance Reddick about their involvement in the film prior to the latter’s unexpected passing in the spring.

While not personally guiding Ana de Armas through the action in the developing spinoff, Chad Stahelski added that he has had the chance to meet the Ballerina star, and he’s been impressed by qualities that she shares in common with Keanu Reeves (with whom she previously worked on the 2015 horror film Knock Knock). Said Stahelski,

After starting principal photography in the last couple months of 2022, Ballerina entered post-production earlier this year… though it’s going to be a minute before audiences get to see it, as Lionsgate has made the action film part of their 2024 movie calendar. Specifically, the movie is presently scheduled to hit theaters on June 7, 2024. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more updates about the project as it gets closer to release.

In four movies released over the course of nine years, the John Wick franchise unfolded one of the greatest action series we have ever seen hit the big screen. With the skills of director Chad Stahelski, star Keanu Reeves, and a whole bunch of talented stunt performers and filmmakers on full display, the movies deliver everything that any genre fan could want – including a satisfying ending with John Wick: Chapter 4. It’s been an epic ride, but there is still always a question that persists with studio-made franchise films: have we seen the best version of each chapter? Could we ever see Director’s Cuts John Wick and its three sequels?

The latter is a query I posed to Chad Stahelski earlier this year prior to the theatrical release of John Wick: Chapter 4 – and with the blockbuster soon to hit the home video market, it’s a subject as relevant as ever. In response, the filmmaker explained that there are what could be called expanded cuts that he keeps for his own personal enjoyment, but he credits his relationship with Lionsgate for being the reason why John Wick Director’s Cuts likely won’t be a thing. Said Stahelski,

One can imagine that there has never been a single movie made in the history of Hollywood that didn’t feature at least some conflict between the filmmakers and the studio; after all, they are generally two parties with different aims: the former wants to make the film possible, and the latter wants to make the most profitable film possible. For example, Chad Stahelski has said that there were F-bombs dropped when the vision for John Wick: Chapter 4’s ending was explained with the death of Keanu Reeves’ titular character. Things got emotional, but Stahelski and Reeves were ultimately able to tell the story they wanted to tell.

Obstacles can influence creativity, and the John Wick series director feels that by the end of making each of the chapters in the franchise, everyone has been happy. As such, he feels that what exists as John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4 are the final cuts:

John Wick: Chapter 4, the second best film in the John Wick franchise, is already available to rent and purchase digitally, but physical media collectors will be able to pick up copies of the film on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD when they hit store shelves next Tuesday, June 13.

Over the course of the first three John Wick movies, Keanu Reeves’ eponymous character goes toe-to-toe with a number of exceptionally talented killers, but at the start of John Wick: Chapter 4, the hitman known as Baba Yaga demonstrates a very different attitude when confronted by Donnie Yen’s Caine: he’s afraid. Their showdown at the Osaka Continental isn’t so much a fight as it is John hunting for the best possible hiding spot, as he knows that he is outmatched one-on-one.

It’s a fantastic scene that instantly sets the stakes high in the 2023 blockbuster – and the reason that it plays out the way it does is because of how impressed Keanu Reeves was by Donnie Yen’s skills.

Prior to the theatrical release of John Wick: Chapter 4 back in March, I had a terrific in-depth conversation about the film with director Chad Stahelski, and it was while discussing Yen’s work on the movie that he revealed how the first John Wick vs. Caine fight became something completely different than what was originally planned. Speaking about the franchise newcomer’s dazzling speed, the filmmaker said,

Stahelski didn’t go into great detail about how the John Wick: Chapter 4 fight was originally going to go down, but it was made clear that the original plan was for the protagonist to be confrontational and attack. When Keanu Reeves got an eyeful of what Donnie Yen could do on set, however, he realized that the original instincts for the sequence were wrong.

While a lot of action stars make a point of not losing fights on screen, Keanu Reeves was rendered ego-less by Donnie Yen, and he worked with Chad Stahelski and his co-star to come up with something that made the movie better. The director continued,

After that sequence in John Wick: Chapter 4, John seems perpetually in danger with Caine on his tail, and it’s one of many aspects of the action epic that make it so remarkable.

Following its successful run at the box office, the 2023 movie is now making its way to the home video market. John Wick: Chapter 4 is now available for digital purchase from major outlets including Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu, and Apple, and physical media collectors can pre-order the film on Blu-ray prior to its June 13 release date.

If you were fortunate enough to see John Wick: Chapter 4 earlier this year, then there’s a possibility that you’re still recovering from the sheer amount of awesomeness that it contained. The movie could’ve very well served as a conclusion for Keanu Reeves’ character but, unsurprisingly, there are plenty of fans who’d like to see more. Unfortunately, as far as we know, a fifth movie has yet to get the greenlight from Lionsgate. That hasn’t stopped those involved with the franchise from talking about the prospect, though, including director Chad Stahelski. In fact, he has a long list of A-listers he’d love to see join the franchise, and Robert Downey Jr. is even one of them!

The world of John Wick is steadily expanding in some interesting ways, based on what we know about spinoff movie Ballerina and prequel series The Continental, which dropped a sweet trailer recently. These offshoot properties certainly open the door for more big names to enter the fold. Though when he sat down with The Direct, Chad Stahelski specifically spoke to casting possibilities for a fifth movie in the main series. RDJ is one of the biggest stars he’d love to snatch up for a theoretical follow-up, and he also named a couple of notable Game of Thrones alums:

I mean, Robert Downey Jr. chopping it up with Keanu Reeves and more? Sign me up! I could easily see the Marvel alum playing the role of a devious mastermind of sorts. Whether he steps into the shoes of the head of a major crime organization or just a seedy arms dealer, the idea of him playing a villain just seems right to me. Though on the other hand, he could play a reluctant ally or neutral force. The same could be true for Peter Dinklage and Sean Bean, as the skilled actors would absolutely thrive in almost any capacity. And if you think these big names are exciting, you’ll lose it when you learn who else the director and former stuntman wants: 

At this point, I’m honestly surprised that none of these actors have made their way to the world of John Wick already. That’s especially true when it comes to Charlize Theron and Michelle Yeoh, who are both cinematic badasses in their own rights. Speaking of female action veterans, they’re another talented lady that Chad Stahelski previously considered:

We can fantasize about these stars all we want, but we have to remember one thing – another movie actually has to get off the ground first. A lot has been said about a John Wick 5 and, despite the enthusiasm nothing seems concrete. Chad Stahelski weighed in on a possible sequel and acknowledged how tricky it can be to keep things fresh. That is something that franchise devotees seem to appreciate about the franchise after all. I remain hopeful that another movie will see the light of day at some point and, if we’re lucky, it’ll include Robert Downey Jr., Michelle Yeoh, Charlize Theron and/or other Hollywood titans. 

John Wick: Chapter 4 is set to be released digitally on May 23 and, if you’re looking for info on other adrenaline-filled titles, check out our schedule of 2023 new movie releases.

Mild spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4 ahead.

Few action movies have hit the pop culture milestones that the Keanu Reeves helmed John Wick franchise has, which has become one of the last decade’s most successful action franchises. Fans can’t get enough of the titular character, played by The Matrix alum, and his intense, high-octane fight scenes. With four successful movies already under its belt, fans are hoping for a fifth chapter in the series, but another follow-up is still uncertain. Fortunately for fans, director Chad Stahelski has some news regarding the continuation of the franchise. 

Director Chad Stahelski recently discussed with The Direct the possibility of a fifth John Wick installment. The filmmaker also addressed the challenge of maintaining the series’ success while keeping it fresh and unique. He told the publication: 

Stahelski expressed profound gratitude that people are eager for more of something he played a role in creating, saying it’s an immense honor. He continued: 

Throughout the series, the legendary hitman has repeatedly evaded death, but with John Wick: Chapter 4’s ending potentially concluding Baba Yaga’s story, it might officially mark the end of the iconic character’s journey. While the filmmaker admitted that he “wouldn’t mind doing a fifth chapter,” he also believes that with the fourth movie, they’ve brought the series to a satisfying conclusion. Stahelski said:

Never say never regarding another Wick movie, but the filmmaker behind everyone’s favorite gun-wielding action hero is ready to give the series a bit of a rest. Who can blame him? Despite a lengthy run time and an R rating, John Wick: Chapter 4 was a massive hit with audiences and critics alike–see why we gave it a near-perfect score. The film broke franchise records at the box office, so everyone involved deserves to take some time off to enjoy the fruits of their labor before unnecessarily returning to the world before they have a clear idea of how or if they should. Given the conclusive nature of John Wick: Chapter 4’s ending, it’s safe to say that if the series were to conclude here, very few unresolved plot points would be left.

Although the fate of a fifth installment in the Wick franchise remains uncertain, fans can still immerse themselves in the world crafted by Chad Stahelski through the upcoming spin-off series set to debut this fall (which will be available to stream with a Peacock subscription), and the scheduled 2024 release of the Ana De Armas-led spin-off film, Ballerina. Rest assured, if there are any developments regarding the future of Keanu Reeves’ beloved character, we will keep our readers informed. In the meantime, be sure to check out our comprehensive list of 2023 movie releases to plan your next visit to the cinema.

For the past decade, the John Wick franchise has cranked out four of the best action movies of all time that continued to up the ante for Keanu Reeves’ titular character finding unique ways to add to his kill count. Over the years, John Wick has gone from a retired widower to being thrown back into a life of secret societies and heart-pounding action sequences, cheating death time and time again along the way. With the John Wick: Chapter 4 ending seemingly putting an end to Baba Yaga’s story, many are left wondering if this is the last we’ll see of the badass character.

So, where does the franchise stand, and what do prominent figures like Reeves, director Chad Stahelski, and Lionsgate’s top brass have to say about the possibility of a John Wick 5? Well, we’re about to break down what has been said about the movie that may or may not come to fruition. 

Initially, Lionsgate's CEO Said There Were Plans To Shoot The Fourth And Fifth John Wick Movies Back-To-Back

Though John Wick 5 isn’t guaranteed right now, there was one point in time when the movie was not only going to happen, it was going to be shot back-to-back with John Wick: Chapter 4.

Back in August 2020, Lionsgate CEO John Feltheimer explained during an earning’s call (via Deadline) that the studio was in the early stages of planning the fourth and fifth installments in the franchise, a little more than a year after the third movie became the king of the 2019 summer blockbuster season. During the call, Feltheimer provided an update on the status of both in-the-works projects, saying:

Obviously, the initial plan to shoot the both movies back-to-back never panned out, and fans were left wondering if John Wick 5 would actually be happening or not. The future of the project would only get more uncertain from there, especially ahead of the fourth movie's release, which itself was delayed multiple times before everything was said and done.

Keanu Reeves Sounded Uncertain When Discussing The Future Prior To John Wick: Chapter 4’s Release 

In the months leading up to the March 2023 release of John Wick: Chapter 4, the next steps for the mainline franchise didn’t become any clearer, as director Chad Stahelski said it was Lionsgate’s intention to continue past the fourth installment while he stood on the fence. The uncertainty reached higher levels in January 2023 when Keanu Reeves told Total Film (via GamesRadar) that a fifth movie really depended on how the audience responded to Chapter 4, saying:

The movie ended up being a massive success, both in terms of critical response –it had a near-perfect score in Cinemablend’s John Wick: Chapter 4 review – and box office returns, breaking franchise records in the process, despite being nearly three hours in length. But as Stahelski would say around the release, John Wick 5 was anything but guaranteed.

Chad Stahelski Said He Was ‘Done For The Moment’ In March 2023

In March 2023, just days before the John Wick: Chapter 4 premiere, director Chad Stahelski sat down for an extensive interview with The Hollywood Reporter, where he touched on the franchise’s future, saying he was “done for the moment,” but had not made a final decision:

Stahelski stopped short of providing a definite answer about the franchise’s future, but it sounds like we could hypothetically know more about a potential John Wick: Chapter 5 at some point in the future.

Chad Stahelski Isn’t Opposed To The Idea Of A John Wick 5, He Just Doesn’t Want Audiences Feeling ‘Ripped Off’

Chad Stahelski knows that audiences want to see more of the franchise with John Wick: Chapter 5, but the stuntman-turned-director has gone on the record to state that while he isn’t opposed to the idea of making a fifth installment, he doesn’t want the audience to “be treated like they’re idiots.” During an August 2023 appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, he explained that there has to be a “real reason” to bring John wick back from the dead:

This isn’t the first time Stahelski has touched on this topic, and it probably won’t be the last either. In the past, the director has opened up about continuing the franchise and what that would mean for the story and its characters. Though we’d all like to see John Wick: Chapter 5, making it make sense and not feeling cheap is paramount.

Lionsgate Chief Joe Drake Has Said John Wick 5 Is In Development, But The ‘Story Isn’t There Yet’

With John Wick: Chapter 4 being both a critical and financial success story upon its release, it seemed like a no-brainer that another installment to the franchise would be a foregone conclusion. However, with Keanu Reeves’ character seemingly dying at the end of the film, it’s going to take a lot of care and consideration to properly tell the story. When speaking with IGN in June 2023, Lionsgate President Joe Drake explained that the story just isn’t there yet:

Drake had previously alluded to Lionsgate being open to the idea of the franchise continuing when speaking with The Hollywood Reporter earlier in the year, stating that they were going to “scratch at ideas” after taking a small break. It appears that break has sense ended, though we don’t yet know what will come of this.

As for now, we’ll have to wait and see what happens with John Wick 5. In the meantime, though, there is still the Ballerina spinoff coming to the big screen in June 2025.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is a massive hit. It’s the highest-grossing entry in the franchise worldwide. And while the movie itself indicates that it could very well be the end of the series, with success like that, it’s hard to believe that there isn’t consideration given to a possible John Wick: Chapter 5. If that happens, director Chad Stahelski knows exactly who he wants to call.

At this point, it’s unclear if there is going to be a John Wick: Chapter 5 or if Chad Stahelski will be back to direct it if it happens, but speaking with The Direct, he admits that there are actually quite a lot of actors he would love to bring into the franchise if and when he has that chance. Some are perhaps unsurprising action stars like Michelle Yeoh and Charlize Theron, but a couple might not be names you might think of. Stahelski suggests… 

The John Wick franchise has continued to add some incredible stars in previous films. We saw Ruby Rose and Common in John Wick: Chapter 2 and Halle Berry and Mark Dacascos (in an incredible performance), in the third entry. John Wick: Chapter 4 gave us Keanu Reeves vs. Donnie Yen, which is just about everything an action movie fan could dream of.

Of course, not every new addition to the John Wick franchise needs to be somebody who gets involved in incredible fight scenes. Asia Kate Dillon and Lawrence Fishburne have done great jobs playing characters that help to expand the universe and the lore of the franchise without getting their hands dirty. Murphy or Farrell could pull off great fight scenes but would be equally good in those other sorts of roles, as would some other names that Chad Stahelski suggests, as he’d love to borrow stars from the MCU and Game of Thrones for the John Wick franchise. He continues… 

At one point there were specific plans to make John Wick: Chapter 5, but Chapter 4 gave us an ending that certainly could be the end of the franchise. We know we’re getting at least one John Wick spinoff movie, as well as a Continental TV series, so perhaps we could see some of these stars in future projects in the universe. Whether they could ever meet John Wick himself is still a very big question.

THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING OF JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4

The John Wick franchise has been an absolutely massive success and with the newest entry things are only looking better when it comes to the box office. Normally, this would be great news for a franchise, because there would all but certainly be more movies coming. But if you’ve seen John Wick: Chapter 4, then you know that doesn’t seem likely, and it turns out Lionsgate had a problem with the ending for exactly that reason.

The John Wick franchise has been the biggest thing going at Lionsgate since the end of The Hunger Games movies, and while that franchise is getting a new entry, it’s not exactly a shock to learn that the studio was not a fan of the plan to end John Wick with Chapter 4. As it turns out, there was a lot of colorful language used by the powers that be when they saw how the script for the new movie ended. Director Chad Stahelski tells THR…

It’s certainly true that, at some point, the franchise has to end, but it was more than a little surprising that the decision was made to end it now, especially considering that at one point not only was there a plan to make John Wick: Chapter 5, but it was going to go into production immediately following Chapter 4. However, in the last several months, there has been a lot less talk about John Wick: Chapter 5, and now we know why.

While the studio may have eventually come around to the idea of killing off John Wick, the ending is ambiguous enough that if they eventually did change their minds and wanted to make another, they could certainly do so. And it’s even possible that those conversations have already started. Word is that following the opening weekend of John Wick: Chapter 4, Lionsgate is reportedly already revisiting the idea of making another movie in the main John Wick series. Of course, if the franchise star and director are happy where they left things, it seems unlikely that will happen. 

Whether or not that happens, we know that John Wick, as a franchise will continue. We’re getting a Continental spinoff series as well as the Ballerina movie starring Ana de Armas. And Keanu Reeves will appear, so John Wick will be back. 

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!

The end of John Wick: Chapter 4 has stirred up a lot of conversation because it features the death of Keanu Reeves’ titular protagonist, but certainly not to be forgotten is that he is one of two major characters who doesn’t make it to the movie’s end credits. Charon, played by Lance Reddick (who tragically passed away earlier this month), is killed by Bill Skarsgård’s Marquis in an early scene – instantly setting high stakes for the film. It’s a shocking moment given fan appreciation for the stoic, talented concierge of The Continental, and Reddick was definitely taken aback when he first learned about Charon’s fate from the script.

I learned about Lance Reddick initial response to his character’s death while interviewing the actor and co-star Ian McShane at the Los Angeles press day for John Wick: Chapter 4. After talking about Winston’s motives at the end of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and working with Ana de Armas in the upcoming movie Ballerina, I moved the conversation into spoiler territory. I specifically asked about his reaction to Charon’s fate in the movie, and he said with a smile,

I followed up the conversation in my own chat with Chad Stahelski nearly two weeks after sitting down with Lance Reddick and Ian McShane – the day before the news broke that Reddick had died. I told the filmmaker that I had asked the actor about Charon’s death, noting that he seemed heart-struck, and he explained why it was that call was made in the John Wick: Chapter 4 script.

Stahelski began by saying that he could understand criticisms of the decision, noting that he is aware that it is sometimes an indication of creative bankruptcy:

He added that he wasn’t sure what version of the script Lance Reddick had read, noting that the movie changed over the course of the project’s development, but emphasized that it wasn’t a decision that was made flippantly. There were evidently versions of the script where Ian McShane’s Winston was killed (something McShane alluded to during my interview), but ultimately it was understood that Charon’s death was what was right for the film:

The moment in question comes relatively early in John Wick: Chapter 4. Winston and Charon go to meet with the Marquis, and they face serious consequences for their association with the killer nicknamed The Baba Yaga. Winston is stripped of his role as the manager of The Continental, but more importantly, Charon is shot and killed.

It’s a striking moment in the first act of the movie, and Chad Stahelski recognized it as a key and important plot beat:

Sadly, John Wick: Chapter 4 will now be remembered as one of Lance Reddick’s last films, though, as alluded to, we will see the actor back as Charon in Ballerina – which is set prior to the events of the new movie. He’ll next be featured in the remake of White Men Can’t Jump, which is scheduled to be released on May 19 on HBO Max.

If you haven’t seen it already, John Wick: Chapter 4 is now playing in theaters everywhere, and you can consult our 2023 Movie Release Calendar to learn about all of the titles set to hit cinemas and streaming services in the coming months.

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!

Looking at the titles of the movies in the John Wick series, one of the four definitely sticks out. John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2, and John Wick: Chapter 4 are of a kind, but John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is unique thanks to its Latin subtitle. It’s a bit of an oddity, but it’s a more understandable one when you learn that there was at one point a subtitle in mind for the third sequel, but it ended up getting cut.

John Wick: Chapter 4 was almost titled John Wick: Chapter 4 – Hagakure, and while the former is certainly simpler, director Chad Stahelski told me an interview earlier this month that he remains a fan of the latter. While talking about the ending of the film, the alternate ending, and concluding the journey of Keanu Reeves’ titular protagonist, he explained how the planned subtitle fit in with the narrative that was being executed. Said the filmmaker,

It goes without saying that the death of John Wick at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4 is a shock… but would it have been as shocking if the movie was called Hagakure and was heavily analyzed by fans on the internet? I pondered this and asked if the excision of the subtitle was related to the fact that it could be a potential spoiler, but Chad Stahelski explained why that wasn’t the case. Instead of the cut being made because of what Hagakure is intended to specifically mean in the context of the film, the reason was because it could potentially be mistranslated:

Staying on the subject, my curiosity piqued, I asked if there was also a subtitle that was considered for John Wick: Chapter 2. He laughed and said that there wasn’t, and he told me about the origins of “Parabellum” for John Wick: Chapter 3 – noting that it is meant to have a double meaning because of its translation from Latin and history in the world of guns and ammunition. Said Stahelski,

Continuing, Chad Stahelski said that he would have been happy if the movie was titled John Wick: Chapter 4 – Hagakure, but the complexities of releasing a film in the modern world didn’t allow it:

Minus a subtitle, John Wick: Chapter 4 is now playing in theaters everywhere – featuring a stellar cast including Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Lance Reddick, Ian McShane, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, and more. The film just had a massive opening weekend at the box office after it earned near-universal critical acclaim, and it’s a must see on the big screen (up to and including its exciting end credits scene).

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk.

There is no question that John Wick: Chapter 4 has a shocking ending. The franchise is presently at the peak of its popularity (as indicated by its spectacularly opening weekend at the box office), and it’s pretty crazy that the new movie concludes with the death of its main character. That being said, it’s a finale that the blockbuster wholly earns – and in recognizing that, it’s understandable why director Chad Stahelski didn’t go with the alternate ending for the film that was shot not ultimately used.

Stahelski told me about the version of John Wick: Chapter 4 that audiences aren’t seeing during a virtual interview earlier this month – a conversation that also included discussion of changes that were made to the movie’s post-credits sequence. While talking about the conclusion of the film in general and the big choices that were made, he beat me to the punch by telling me that the production shot an alternate ending. I followed up by asking if he could tell me about it, and the director said (referencing a John Woo classic),

Chad Stahelski referenced Hard Boiled in our discussion of the post-credits scene as well, noting that he and star Keanu Reeves wanted to follow that movie’s roadmap by saying, “We gotta kill everybody.”

In the final scenes of John Wick: Chapter 4, the titular protagonist claims victory against the mysterious High Table when he kills the villainous Marquis (Bill Skarsgård) in a duel, but he is shown to seemingly be fatally wounded. John requests that Winston (Ian McShane) take him back home to New York, and when the action goes from France back to the United States, Winston and The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) are shown standing over John Wick’s grave.

Because we don’t actually see John die/see a body, the movie leaves it up to the audience’s interpretation as to whether the character is actually dead or if he is alive and he is putting the “John Wick” identity to rest. It’s a satisfying ending as is because it feels like a firm conclusion to the mission of vengeance that the protagonist started all the way back in the first movie, but that feeling would be ruined by getting confirmation that he is alive, so it can be said that the right choice was made.

At the very least it can be said that audiences haven’t seen the last of Keanu Reeves as John Wick, as we’ll be seeing him again soon as part of the ensemble cast of Ballerina – the spinoff starring Ana de Armas and featuring cameos from Ian McShane and Lance Reddick. The movie has completed production, but Lionsgate has not yet announced a release date.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is now playing in theaters everywhere, and you can learn about all of the films that are scheduled in the weeks and months ahead via our 2023 Movie Release Calendar.

John Wick: Chapter 4 has its star Keanu Reeves doing tons of awesome action stunts, including learning how to do a reverse 180 and drift while reloading a prop gun and shooting it out the door in one major scene in Paris, France. That's on top of all the martial arts fighting as well! But did you know that while Wick is actually right-handed, the actor is actually left-handed? That’s right, Reeves is pulling off a lot of difficult stunts as the titular protagonist with his non-dominant hand! And there's an awesome reason why that's the case.

Chad Stahelski appeared on the ReelBlend Podcast, where he dished on the John Wick character and the fourth installment in the fan-favorite action franchise. It was during the chat that Stahelski revealed which hand his leading man favors. In his words: 

When speaking to ReelBlend host, Kevin McCarthy and Jake Hamilton about the latest movie, the stuntman-turned-director also shared why they made the decision for Reeves’ action character to be right-handed despite his own preferred hand. And if I'm being honest, the reasoning is just too perfect. As Stahelski continued: 

Once again, Keanu Reeves proves he’s a true Hollywood legend, while Chad Stahelski proves that he knows how to increase the thrill factor -- even through creative choices that seem inconsequential. To top things off, in a big scene from John Wick: Chapter 3 the character sustained an injury on his left hand leading to a lot of CGI work needing to be done on his dominant hand. During Stahelski’s interview on ReelBlend, he revealed that the story decision led to a “huge debate” with Lionsgate, who didn’t think a fourth movie would happen. 

In order to keep the continuity of Wick no longer having his ring finger, 600 VFX shots were added to John Wick: Chapter 4. When asked about whether he regrets the decision from the third movie, the director shared that he still thinks it’s a “great choice” and actually awarded some of the VFX guys statues of hands without ring fingers to commemorate the whole thing. Check out the full ReelBlend podcast episode featuring the interview below: 

The latest installment is out in theaters this weekend after being with great reviews from critics. CinemaBlend’s own John Wick 4 review was also positive, with Eric Eisenberg awarding the movie 4.5 out of 5 stars and saying it “earns every second of its epic runtime,” which is 11 minutes shy of three hours following its first cut being nearly four hours.  

Of course, now while we’re watching John Wick: Chapter 4, we’ll be looking at Keanu Reeves' hands a lot more to check out when he’s using his left and right hands along with his magical missing finger the VFX team worked hard on maintaining continuity for. You have to love the efforts set forth by everyone involved!

SPOILERS ahead for John Wick: Chapter 4I! Read on with caution if you haven't seen the new Keanu Reeves movie.

I would love to see what Chad Stahelski does with the Rainbow Six movie, and his long-in-the-works Highlander reboot sounds cool and all, but after watching the stuntman-turned-director’s latest feature film, John Wick: Chapter 4, I just can’t stop thinking about his anticipated Ghost of Tsushima project. In fact, I’m craving the upcoming video game adaptation now more than I did back a couple years ago when I ranted and raved about my favorite game of 2020.

The action, drama, and incredible story of the nearly three-hour epic that was John Wick: Chapter 4 had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. And while I was thinking about what was going to come next following the movie’s ending, I also couldn’t get Ghost of Tsushima out of my head, and why now is the right time to bring the massive samurai odyssey to the big screen. Here are a few reasons why…

Ghost Of Tsushima Explores Tradition And Codes, And What Happens When They're Broken

Everyone who has seen The John Wick movies knows that rules, traditions, and codes are at the center of each installment and make up a large part of the franchise’s lore. Various characters have either broken those rules (like killing someone inside one of the Continental hotels) and challenged the codes and traditions of the old ways, creating an incredibly interesting dynamic that further sets the property apart from other action movies.

This is also true for Ghost of Tsushima. Without giving too much away from the PlayStation exclusive title, a lot of the conflict in the game doesn’t come from protagonist Jin Sakai’s bloody crusade against the invading General Khotun Khan, but instead from the ways in which his violent ways go against the code of the samurai, putting him at odds with his uncle, Lord Shimura, his former mentor and the the jitō of Tsushima.  

Jin’s actions, which are the antithesis of the samurai, put him at odds with those around him, leading to exile and a target being placed on his head, both from his former brothers-in-arms and the invaders trying to wipe out his existence and legacy.

There Are Actually A Lot Of Parallels Between John Wick And Ghost Of Tsushima's Jin Sakai

Another reason I am craving the Ghost of Tsushima movie more so now than ever before is the way in which John Wick and Jin Sakai have so much in common. I mean the parallels between the two protagonists are wild, especially in John Wick: Chapter 4. Both are severely injured and left for dead, both are nursed back to health by those who go against the natural order of things, both have bounties on their heads, and the only way each can get out of their situation is by fighting through it. 

On top of the story elements, both protagonists live in between the black and white of society, instead navigating this gray area where they aren’t forced to subscribe to the concept of absolute good and absolute evil. LIke Wick, Jin is also incredibly talented in multiple forms of combat, whether it’s hand-to-hand, with blades, or in ranged weapons, with the bow and arrow taking the place of Wick’s Pit Viper. 

I think Chad Stahelski could do wonders with the character of Jin Sakai, his story, his skills, his legacy, and a kill count rivaling that of John Wick. 

John Wick: Chapter 4's Action Sequences Accomplish So Much From A Narrative Standpoint, Which Will Be Key To Ghost Of Tsushima's Story

One aspect of the John Wick franchise that doesn’t go unnoticed is the way in which the action sequences are rarely action-packed just for the sake of being action-packed, as the narrative of each film is progressed through the various fight scenes, chases, and shootouts. Some of the best scenes in the franchise so far have been those that have used heart-stopping action as a way to progress the narrative, including some key moments in John Wick: Chapter 4.

I keep going back to the expansive Osaka Continental sequence and the way in which the movie’s central narrative is moved along by the brilliant action. The strengths and motivations of Hotel manager Shimazu Koji (Hiroyuki Sanada) and his daughter, Akira (Rina Sawayama) are introduced, Caine’s (Donnie Yen) prowess with a sword (and various other weapons) is cemented, and a lot of the movie’s themes are laid out in this sprawling sequence of events.

This type of storytelling will be key to Ghost of Tsushima and its narrative, especially if Chad Stahelski keeps the game’s immersive and exhilarating opening invasion.

In Fact, The Osaka Sequence In Particular Felt Like A Tease For Ghost Of Tsushima

On top of progressing multiple storylines while showcasing some of the best action the John Wick franchise has seen so far, the Osaka Continental sequence also felt like a tease for Ghost of Tsushima, like it was Chad Stahelski’s way of saying, “Just wait until I devote an entire movie to this.”

With High Table soldiers looking like modern-day samurai with their elaborate masks and head-to-toe armor, various traditional Japanese weapons, and a duel between Caine and Koji that felt like something straight out of an Akira Kurosawa movie, there was jus so much to love throughout the sequence of events. But most of all, Stahelski and his team treated the imagery and iconography of Japanese culture with utmost respect, so much so it didn’t feel ingenuine or degrading. 

After John Wick's Showdown With Caine, I Can't Wait To See How Stahelski Handles Ghost Of Tsushima's Many Duels

Very similar to John Wick: Chapter 4, Ghost of Tsushima ends with an incredibly powerful, emotional, and beautifully shot duel that serves as a fitting conclusion to the game’s sprawling and blood-soaked narrative (which includes plenty and plenty of duels throughout). When I was watching the final showdown between John Wick and Caine, I couldn’t help but be transported back to my first time experiencing the game’s closing moments where Jin Sakai and Lord Shimura have a slow, methodical, and personal duel beneath a Japanese maple tree.

I can’t wait to see what Chad Stahleski does with this incredibly personal moment between uncle and nephew who reluctantly fight one another to the death. And if it’s half as good as the closing moments of John Wick: Chapter 4, fans of the game will be very happy. 

As you can probably tell, I’m extremely excited for Ghost of Tsushima under Chad Stahelski’s direction. Though it’s hard to say when the movie will come out (it hasn’t even started production yet), there are plenty of upcoming 2023 movies to hold me over while I wait.

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!

In the coming years, the John Wick franchise will be widening its scope. Since 2014, we’ve watched the titular character kill a whole lot of people on various missions of vengeance, but before long, fans will be able to watch Ana de Armas take center stage in the John Wick spinoff film Ballerina and witness a prequel story in the form of the Peacock original series The Continental. There’s a big future ahead for the continuity… but all signs point to Keanu Reeves’ killer protagonist not being a part of it.

In recent weeks, the star has downplayed things when asked about a John Wick: Chapter 5, and the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 is why. After dozens if not hundreds of battles, the revenge-hungry assassin has been put to rest. It’s a shock for any fan who expected that these movies would continue on for years, but I recently had the opportunity to interview director Chad Stahelski, and he explained why the film had to go with its big and emotional conclusion.

What Happens At The End Of John Wick: Chapter 4

Following his battles with Parisian assassins trying to stop him from making it to his duel on time, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) arrives at the Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre – albeit with the help of his friend/opponent, Caine (Donnie Yen). The two men square off in the gunfight according to the rules, moving a total of 20 paces closer to each other with each round that doesn’t result in a kill shot. When they are only 20 paces away from one another, Caine shoots John in the side, bringing him to his knees.

Greedily wanting to kill John himself, the Marquis (Bill Skarsgård) claims the coup de grace shot, telling Caine with witnesses that he and his daughter are free from the High Table. What the Marquis doesn’t realize is that John took a bullet from Caine without firing one himself, and when the central antagonist takes Caine’s gun, John is within his right to shoot him (and he does while uttering one word: “consequences.”)

The Harbinger (Clancy Brown) declares John free of his obligation to the High Table, and Winston (Ian McShane) is reinstated as the manager of the New York Continental. John says his goodbyes to Caine, and while heavily bleeding, goes over to a set of stairs to sit down. He asks Winston to take him home, and Winston says, “Of course.”

After a flashback memory of John’s wife, Helen (Bridget Moynahan), we see Winston and The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) back in New York at a cemetery standing over the graves of Helen Wick and John Wick, whose headstone, as requested, reads “Loving Husband.”

John Wick: Chapter 4 Director Chad Stahelski Explains Why The Movie Had To End With John Wick’s Death

When I had the opportunity to conduct an extended, spoiler-filled interview with Chad Stahelski earlier this month, the very first thing I asked about was that surprise ending and the death of John Wick. It’s a wild thing to see the character killed off at the height of his popularity, but the filmmaker explained that it was basically the whole point of making John Wick: Chapter 4.

He explained that every installment of the John Wick series has been dictated by a set of guidelines, and one of the most important ones that he and star Reeves were insistent on following was making sure that every sequel had an answer to “Why?” Said Stahelski,

After making the first three movies without a specific plan, they were humbled to get the greenlight by Lionsgate to make John Wick: Chapter 4 – but what they realized with the offer was that it would have to be the sequel that properly wrapped up the eponymous hero’s story:

As mentioned, the franchise is currently at the height of its popularity in pop culture, and Stahelski suggested that the pitched approach for Chapter 4 was met with some resistance from executives at Lionsgate. But, he had a specific vision for the sequel tied into what was originally going to be the film’s subtitle a la John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. He added,

Stahelski pointed to the ambiguity that exists in the ending of Chapter 4 (we don’t actually see John die/there isn’t a body, so perhaps “John Wick” is dead while John lives on), but also emphasized that the ending isn’t meant to be the point of the journey:

Featuring a stellar cast of talented actors, John Wick: Chapter 4 is now playing in theaters everywhere. For more about the film, you can read Chad Stahelski’s explanation of the post-credits scene, and you can check out our 2023 movie release calendar to learn about all of the big new titles coming out in the months ahead.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is now in theaters, and the director behind the franchise, Chad Stahelski, returns to ReelBlend to discuss. We talk about the fallout of cutting off John Wick’s finger leading to over 600 VFX shots, why they decided to make John right-handed even though Keanu Reeves is a lefty, the franchises animal-loving roots, working with the Wachowski’s on The Matrix franchise and more.

Also this week, we are joined by Executive Vice President of the National Association of Theater Owners Jackie Brenneman to discuss the outlook of moviegoing in 2023 and beyond.

Stay tuned through the interview for our full review of John Wick: Chapter 4 which might just be our favorite yet.

Timestamps (approx. only)

00:00:00 - Intro
00:04:30 - John Wick: Chapter 4 Director Chad Stahelski Interview
00:41:28 - Shazam! Fury of The Gods’ Disappointing Box Office
00:56:36 - NATO Vice President Talks Theatrical Expectations In 2023 And Beyond
01:10:54 - John Wick: Chapter 4 Review
01:23:46 - Our Favorite Action Movie Set Piece
01:35:39 - Outro

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"John Wick: Chapter 4" stars Keanu Reeves (John Wick), Laurence Fishburne (Bowery King), Lance Reddick (Charon), Ian McShane (Winston), Hiroyuki Sanada (Shimazu), Shamier Anderson (Tracker) and director Chad Stahelski discuss the latest "John Wick" film in this interview with CinemaBlend's Asst. Managing Editor Eric Eisenberg. Topics include the most intense "John Wick 4" stunts, Ana De Armas in the upcoming "John Wick" spinoff “Ballerina,” and even how Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt would stand up against John Wick. Plus, we tried to get something about "Constantine 2" out of Keanu Reeves.

Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro
00:28 - Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski Discuss The Wild Stair Sequence
01:30 - Ian McShane/Lance Reddick Hilariously Imagine Their Character’s Lives Outside The Continental
02:20 - Bowery King’s Backstory According to Laurence Fishburne
03:25 - Tracker And Shimazu’s Backstories According To Shamier Anderson And Hiroyuki Sanada
05:15 - The John Wick Movies Have a Special Way of Celebrating Stuntmen Who Get ‘Killed’ by Keanu Reeves
06:05 - Why Keanu Reeves Loves Training For ‘John Wick’
07:05 - John Wick vs. Ethan Hunt: Keanu Reeves Has The Most Keanu Reeves Response (And Gushes About Tom Cruise)
08:20 - Lance Reddick/Ian Mcshane on Working with Ana De Armas in ‘Ballerina’
09:05 - Chad Stahelski Dishes on the ‘John Wick’ Spinoff, ‘Ballerina’
10:15 - Laurence Fishburne On Potentially Returning For ‘Ballerina’
11:15 - Hiroyuki Sanada on Working with Fellow Kung-Fu Legend Donnie Yen
12:00 - Did Winston Try to Kill John Wick In 'Chapter 3?' Ian McShane/Lance Reddick Respond
13:00 - Keanu Reeves on Potentially Going Blond for 'Constantine 2'