In under eight years, John Wick has transformed from a low-budget action film starring Keanu Reeves that nobody outside of the actor’s fans and genre addicts paid any attention to into a blockbuster cinematic world that continues to expand in scale.
Not only did the amount of money made at the box office almost quadruple between the first and third chapters, going from $88 million to $326 million, but the levels of critical and audience adulation have remained through the roof, with all of the signs pointing to next year’s fourth installment keeping the hot streak alive.
In addition to more adventures for Keanu Reeves’ sharp-suited assassin, a prequel series titled The Continental is now in production. The quickly rising actress Ana de Armas will lead the cast of the spinoff titled Ballerina.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear director Chad Stahelski confirm to Collider that he’s delighted to keep creating them as long as the fans want to see them. John Wick: Chapter 5 was given the go-ahead a while ago and initially intended to film back-to-back with part four.
Stahelski recently stated that if he wants to send John Wick beyond the stars, he’ll “go to f*cking space.” This is an idea that we earnestly hope comes to fruition, even if it marks the final stand for the title hero.
“We construct our mythology, and we have a studio (Lionsgate) that both gets out of our way and supports us on the weird choices that we make,” said one of the producers. Keanu and I have enough ideas to last for days. If people see the movie, the movie is booming, and the audience returns to us.
Keanu Reeves will go to space in John Wick 4 Hints Director Chad Stahelski
“The world is a joyful place. It is possible that I could spend the rest of my life here. If people like it and want to see more of it, I can think of many other ways that you might spend your career far worse. According to what Stahelski said to Entertainment Weekly, “We’ll let the audience figure it out.”
Stahelski and Reeves are listed as executive producers on the upcoming spinoff television program, “The Continental,” produced by the studio in collaboration with Starz. The announcement of this project was made the year before.
They are now attempting to produce the first season and have a writers’ room working on it. Keanu and I have discussed the creative aspect and mapped out what we believe separates John Wick from other action movies and what would set the TV show apart from similar programs.
From here on out, there will be a lot of going back and forth. But, yes, Lionsgate is really in the process of fully developing it, and the project’s working title is “The Continental.” “It ought to be enjoyable,” stated Stahelski.
