The rise of the John Wick franchise has been fast. Just six years ago, the original debuted at Fantastic Fest to overwhelming buzz. Not long after, a trailer hit the internet and before we knew it, the movie was in theaters in late October and ended up grossing a modest $76 million worldwide off of a budget of just $30 million.
Two sequels have since followed with each earning more than the previous one. In fact, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which came out in 2019, brought in more on its opening weekend than the original movie made during its entire domestic run.
It’s an extremely popular franchise for Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment, but the question is, how many more will they make? Well, ComicBook.com sat down with screenwriter Derek Kolstad to talk about the future of the series and he said it’s very important to him and star Keanu Reeves that they don’t wear out their welcome in churning out sequels.
“I think the other thing, too, is to his [Keanu Reeves’] credit and to his career, he’s done very few sequels. He found something very special in John Wick that is very important to him, that is both spoken and unspoken. I don’t know how many more there will be, but I think the plan right now is, at the very least, four to five.”
The writer adds, “The idea being if we can… Shoehorn is the wrong word. It’s very negative, but if you can look at Chapter 4 and go, ‘Is it one long movie, or do you take your time, let it breathe, be its own creature as four and five?’ I think that’s where he would be incredibly happy. He’s taken ownership of this character. He’s made it his own in the best ways possible, and so it isn’t a matter of deferring to a guy like Keanu. It’s a matter of all of us excited to play again.”
Tom Cruise gets a lot of credit for doing most of his own stunts, but Reeves is almost just as daring. And just as old at 55. He works hard to train and entertain audiences. But there’s only so many bad guys for him to kill. Not to mention that the third movie ends with him barely surviving.
But director Chad Stahelski, Kolstad and the other filmmakers have done such a great job building the world within John Wick that there’s room for the fourth entry, a spinoff movie and a television show based on The Continental hotel featured prominently throughout the franchise.
Reeves’ time in the titular role may be coming to an end soon, but there’s so much more to explore in this universe. The movies cost $30-40 million to make, which is nothing like a Marvel or Star Wars production, and as long as the fans keep watching them, expect to see many more chapters in this unique world.
