Summary
TheJohn Wickfranchise keeps announcing new spinoffs – like the upcomingUnder the High Tableseries – and they’re burning through all the best premises forJohn Wick: Chapter 5. After the blockbuster success ofJohn Wick: Chapter 4, Lionsgate was going to continue the saga one way or another.John Wick: Chapter 4ended with Wick making the ultimate sacrifice to win a climactic duel against the tyrannical Marquis de Gramont and free the High Table from his rule. But Lionsgate won’t let Wick die until he stops making them money, soJohn Wick: Chapter 5is in development.
But the problem is that Lionsgate is burning through all the best premises forJohn Wick: Chapter 5with its incessant spinoffs.John Wickis already a cinematic universe, with a spinoff movie namedBallerinalined up for a 2025 release andThe Continental: From the World of John Wickstreaming on Peacock. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg; Lionsgate isworking on otherJohn Wickspinoffsto follow upJohn Wick: Chapter 4. But they’re going through the film’s sequel setups so quickly,there won’t be any stories left forJohn Wick: Chapter 5to tell.
John Wick’s New Spinoffs Are Telling Stories That Would Work For John Wick 5
From Caine to the High Table, all the best story setups are gone
The post-credits scene ofJohn Wick: Chapter 4saw Donnie Yen’s Caine, now free of his obligations to the High Table, returning to Paris to reunite with his daughter. However, when he got there, he was ominously approached by a knife-wielding Akira seeking revenge for her father’s death. After Yen expressed interest in starring in a Caine spinoff film, such a spinoff was announced. It’ll begin filming in Hong Kong in 2025 and it’ll follow up on this post-credits stinger. But now, that meansJohn Wick: Chapter 5can’t follow up on that thread.
Now, it’s been announced that Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski areproducing aJohn WickTV seriesnamedJohn Wick: Under the High Tablethat will act as a direct sequel toJohn Wick: Chapter 4. It’ll explore the immediate aftermath of the Marquis’ death and the power vacuum that remains within the High Table organization. That’s another story that could’ve been used in the next chapter of the mainlineJohn Wicksaga.If Lionsgate isn’t careful and keeps announcing more and more spinoffs, there won’t be any story left to tellinJohn Wick: Chapter 5.
John Wick 4’s Ending Already Made John Wick 5 Difficult To Get Right
It’ll be tough to pull off Keanu Reeves' return after Wick’s supposed death
Whether spinoffs were taking all of its best storytelling opportunities or not,John Wick: Chapter 4had already made it very tricky forJohn Wick: Chapter 5to come to fruition.Explaining Reeves’ returnalone will be difficult for the franchise to get right.If it reveals that Wick didn’t really die, then it’ll undermine the weight of his sacrificeand the finality of his journey inChapter 4. And if it goes back to tell a prequel story wedged in between previous movies, it’ll feel pointless and predictable.
And now, that’s the least ofJohn Wick: Chapter 5’s problems. Now, there are a bunch of other factors to consider. Caine’s fate can’t be ignored inChapter 5, since he was such an integral part ofChapter 4, andChapter 5can’t ignore the High Table, either, because killing its leader and liberating its members was the biggest plot point inChapter 4. But since both of those stories are being handled by spinoffs,Chapter 5doesn’t really have anywhere to go.
John Wick 5 Must Build On The New Spinoffs To Tell A Great Story
The Wick Cinematic Universe can’t be ignored
Perhaps the only way to makeJohn Wick: Chapter 5work is to ignore all the spinoffs, leave the wider universe be, and just tell a gonzo standalone story about Wick’s soul fighting his way through the nine circles of Hell. But it seems unlikely that this franchise will go into the afterlife, especially since that would mean it really has to let Reeves go. And if it doesn’t go to Hell, thenJohn Wick: Chapter 5can’t avoid addressing the stories being told in the spinoffs. Instead, it should embrace the spinoffs and build on their plot developments.
SinceJohn Wick: Chapter 5can’t ignore Caine’s future or the fate of the High Table, it’ll have to build on the spinoffs, not ignore them. Maybe Caine’s journey in his spinoff will lead him right back to Wick.Maybe whoever replaces the Marquis as the de facto leader of the High Table will decide that Wick needs to payand send the goon squad after him all over again. Whatever happens in theJohn Wickspinoffs, the fifth entry in the mainline series needs to embrace it.
John Wick
“John Wick” is a neo-noir action-thriller franchise centered around a retired hitman who returns to the criminal underworld to seek vengeance. Known for its intense and stylistic action sequences, the franchise has redefined modern action cinema with its choreographed gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, and intricate world-building. The series explores themes of loyalty, honor, and survival in a secret society of assassins.
