John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, John (Keanu Reeves) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) have formed an alliance to topple the High Table. However, in John Wick: Chapter 4, John and the Bowery King find themselves facing a literal army of adversaries, including the formidable Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) and John's old friend Caine (Donnie Yen).
In an interview with Total Film (via Games Radar), Keanu Reeves stated that John Wick: Chapter 4 "has the most action of any of the [John Wick] films" by a "good margin", with Reeves also describing it as the most physically demanding movie of his career.
With the John Wick's franchise's martial arts and gun fu-based action sequences, Reeves's description certainly sets expectations high for John Wick: Chapter 4. However, it also leaves John Wick: Chapter 5 in the position of having to follow up on the enormous amount of action that its predecessor is said to deliver.
John Wick 5 Now Has To One-Up John Wick 4 (Which Will Be Challenging)
One of the biggest reasons why the John Wick franchise has become such an action movie phenomenon is the ease with which the series has consistently topped itself. As established by the first John Wick, the series is full of some of the best action of the modern age. Moreover, each John Wick movie has grown increasingly grand and elaborate in both its action scenes and Reeves's astonishing fighting style as John Wick. While it is not altogether surprising for Reeves to reveal that John Wick: Chapter 4 continues that trajectory, it also establishes how daunting the task of continuing that will be for John Wick: Chapter 5.
Per Reeves's description, with John Wick: Chapter 4 delivering such a high-level of action, John Wick: Chapter 5 would break the franchise's trend by not topping the level and scope of its predecessor's action. That also, in turn, establishes a major physical challenge for Reeves and the many stuntmen of John Wick: Chapter 5 to meet. Of course, the path to John Wick: Chapter 5 will not be completely linear, either.
Is John Wick 5 Still Happening?
John Wick: Chapter 4 will be followed by the Ana de Armas-led spin-off movie Ballerina. With Reeves and much of the John Wick franchise's main cast also appear in the spin-off, this has led to some speculation that Ballerina might be replacing John Wick: Chapter 5. This could theoretically have some in director Chad Stahelski downplaying the initial plans to shoot John Wick's 4 and 5 back-to-back.
With that being said, Ballerina is also said to take place between John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4, which would make it a rather bizarre replacement for John Wick: Chapter 5. Furthermore, the popularity of the John Wick series makes it unlikely that Lionsgate would pull the plug before John Wick: Chapter 4 has been released. While anything can happen behind-the-scenes, it is likely best to assume that John Wick: Chapter 5 is at least still a possibility until an official statement from the studio indicates otherwise.
Can John Wick 5 Meet Its Biggest Challenge?
Whatever the plans for John Wick: Chapter 5 may be, the real question raised by Reeves's description of John Wick: Chapter 4 is whether its prospective sequel can top it. Just going by John Wick: Chapter 4's numerous martial arts stars in its cast, it is all but a given that the movie's action will be as stellar as any major 2023 action film. While that will leave John Wick: Chapter 5 will a very high standard to meet, the past John Wick movies themselves argue that it can.
As an action movie franchise with professional stunt people as its major creative pilots, the John Wick franchise has been in very good hands under Chad Stahelski and 87 North Productions. Additionally, Keanu Reeves himself has long since shown his commitment to the role of John Wick, training and rehearsing diligently for the franchise's fight scenes and stunts. For all the challenges that will surely come with John Wick: Chapter 5 outdoing the level of action of John Wick: Chapter 4, Keanu Reeves, Chad Stahelski, and the stunt professionals of the series have more than shown themselves capable of doing so.
