John Wick Producer Sets Timeline for Possible Fifth Film, Teases The Continental

Though the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 feels pretty definitive in terms of a stopping point for the franchise's main story, fans are still wondering if a fifth film is on the table for star Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski. Well, if you're one of those fans, we now have a timeline to look forward to for answers: September.

Speaking to Deadline about the current state of the franchise, longtime John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk explained that that's the time when Reeves and Stahelski will head to Japan for a promotional run on Chapter 4. Historically speaking for the franchise's creators, that's the time when the possibility of yet another sequel is typically discussed, so just like everyone else, Iwanyk is waiting to see if his director and star come back from that trip with a new idea in them...as well as a few whiskeys.

RELATED: Breaking Down the Ending of John Wick: Chapter 4

“Once they get through their hangovers, if Keanu and Chad have figured out something cool, if they’ve an organic way back in that doesn’t feel like bullsh-t, then there will be a John Wick 5," Iwanyk said. "That trip to Japan, it’s like waiting for a boat to emerge out of the smoke, but that’s the impetus. These movies are really hard for Keanu and Chad, and everybody. By the time each one is over, most involved have said, never again, this is too hard and we’re not getting any younger. Then time goes by, you see it embraced by fans, and after working together every year for 11 years, it’s become a family in some demented way, and we miss each other. But I totally defer to Chad and Keanu to figure out what and if that story is.”

Earlier this year, Stahelski himself described those Japan trips — and the whiskey bar meet-up that always accompanies them — as an important testing ground for the future of John Wick, as he and Reeves use those moments to decompress and, with a few drinks in them, decide if the time and effort of another action spectacle is worth it.

"I’m sure the studio has a plan," Stahelski said back in March. "If everyone loves it and it goes kooky, then we’ll take a quiet minute. Wicks always, for some weird reason, always get the latest release date in Japan. It’s always like, three months later. If it’s the same this time, we’ll do a Japanese tour and release the movie in September. Keanu and I will take the long trip to Tokyo, we’ll sit in the Imperial Hotel Scotch Bar and go, 'What do you think?' We’ll have a couple 20-year-old whiskeys and write some ideas on napkins. If those ideas stick, maybe we’ll make a movie."

What Iwanyk has to say about Peacock's John Wick prequel, The Continental 

It's pretty clear, particularly after the box office performance of Chapter 4, that studio Lionsgate isn't ready to say goodbye to John Wick, but even if they do, they've got more from the franchise surrounding him on the way. The first spinoff movie in the series, Ballerina, will hit theaters next year, and this September will also see the arrival of The Continental, a new Peacock original prequel series that charts the origins of John Wick's mentor, Winston, at the title hotel in the 1970s. According to Iwanyk, the series makes for a perfect long-form alternative to more Wick movies, in part because the films have offered so many hints at what the past of this world was like. 

"What a genius idea of doing a prequel because, as we expand the current day Wick franchise, it all feeds the prequel, it doesn’t take storylines away from the TV show," Iwanyk said. "The more good characters we come up with for The Ballerina, or whatever spinoffs we come up with, it’s more material for the prequel to grow. It was so different than anything we have had in the Wick world.

Between the premiere of The Continental on Peacock and that fateful trip to Japan, September's going to be a very big month for Wick fans.

Want more Reeves-related action in the meantime? Speed and 47 Ronin are now streaming on Peacock!