The High Table storyline from the first four John Wick films may have concluded, but the (killing) adventures of the Baba Yaga will continue in the fifth instalment — albeit in a way that would turn fan expectations on their head.
Speaking to Empire, franchise director Chad Stahelski teased a “really different” story for the Keanu Reeves-starring sequel, which was confirmed to be in the pipeline last month.
“The saga of John Wick was pretty wrapped up,” said the filmmaker. “So the only way to do a [fifth film] is to have a new story that involves John Wick. It’s not a continuation with the High Table. John dealt with his grief. It will be really different, and everybody [will] see the trailer and go, ‘Holy f**k… I gotta see that.’”
This comes amid a growing slate of Wick-verse projects, starting with the Ballerina spin-off. Releasing on 6 June, the next entry in the series follows Ana de Armas (No Time to Die, Knives Out) as an “assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma organisation [who] sets out to seek revenge after her father’s death” after the events of John Wick: Chapter 3.
Joining the upcoming action thriller film in expanding the world are a Caine spin-off directed by Donnie Yen, an animated prequel series focusing on Wick’s exit from being a full-time assassin, and the Under the High Table TV show that picks up directly after the fourth movie. According to Stahleski, the latter two projects are “big priorities”, with the team looking to “try some things and explore some threads and use those two properties to catapult us forward into the ideas for John Wick 5.”
John Wick 5 has no release date.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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