The Baba Yaga proves to be the gift that keeps on giving. However, not everyone seems too enthused about the latest entry in the John Wick franchise.
In 2014, John Wick hit the mark, establishing itself as the new franchise of choice for action connoisseurs. It follows the story of Keanu Reeves’ gun-fu-trained assassin who comes out of retirement to avenge his dog and retrieve his car from a bunch of thugs who messed with the wrong guy. This bloody adventure kicked off a journey into this universe’s seedy criminal underworld littered with secrets, deceit, and legendary marksmen. Four movies and a television show later, John Wick confirmed himself as nothing short of a cinema icon.
In celebration of the first film’s 10-year anniversary, the cast and crew reunited at a special screening and panel to discuss the success of the man known as the Baba Yaga. As is the case with these types of events, they also used the opportunity to reveal details of what’s on the horizon for the franchise. Director Chad Stahelski dropped the big news that a John Wick documentary was in the works and it would cover the making of all the movies.
Surprisingly, the announcement drew a mixed response on X. While some fans pledged allegiance to anything from the world of John Wick, others wondered why this is even a thing.
They aren’t wrong either, since every film in the franchise has seen its own behind-the-scenes footage released to accompany the movie. Is Lionsgate just gonna drop a compilation video of clips gathered from YouTube and charge everyone to watch it? One user pulled no punches in the comment section, delivering a roundhouse kick to the studio, writing: “Yeah, Lionsgate is *desperate* desperate.”
But what is Lionsgate desperate about, you may ask? Well, 2024 hasn’t been the kindest of times to the studio. As per Variety, Lionsgate saw seven of its films struggle to crack the $10-million mark on their opening weekends across a nine-week period. Coupled with the fact that big tentpoles like The Crow and Borderlands crashed and burned upon arrival and received a critical beatdown that the Baba Yaga would have been proud of, Lionsgate needs a major win right now. John Wick has more than proven itself as a mega-money generator for the studio, so it might be praying that a documentary turns its fortunes around.
That isn’t all, though. In 2025, the John Wick spinoff Ballerina arrives in theaters. Directed by Len Wiseman of Underworld fame and starring Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, much is expected of this latest entry in the franchise. Unfortunately, this film has a Justice League-inspired fiasco written all over it, as reports surfaced that there are major concerns about the movie.
So much so that the word doing the rounds is that Stahelski took over two to three months of reshoots – and Wiseman wasn’t present on set at all. History has taught us that stitching together two visions of a movie like it’s some kind of Frankenstein’s monster has never resulted in a good film, and the rumors don’t bode well for Ballerina. Regardless of what anyone thinks about it, the John Wick documentary appears to be greenlit and set to be released. If anything, at least it tides everyone over until the inevitable John Wick: Chapter 5 because there’s no way that the Baba Yaga is actually dead.