The John Wick franchise has grown into a major IP over the years, but it has just admitted its biggest flaw ahead of Keanu Reeves’ apparent return. Since 2014, Keanu Reeves has starred as the тιтular character in the neo-noir action thriller film series, featuring in four movies in total. The John Wick franchise has mostly centered around the legendary hitman’s reluctant return to the criminal underworld, exploring various missions and threats following his venture out of retirement. However, John Wick 4’s ending provided a pretty definitive conclusion for the famous Keanu Reeves action character due to his unfortunate death.

While there have been various spin-off projects to expand the beloved franchise, from comic books to TV shows, for the longest time, it looked like we had seen the last of John Wick following the fourth movie’s conclusion. However, in a shocking turn of events, Keanu Reeves was confirmed to return in John Wick 5 at CinemaCon in April 2025, with Chad Stahelski set to direct. While there haven’t been many John Wick: Chapter 5 updates since, as it is still early days, the announcement of Keanu Reeves’ return essentially admitted that the franchise cannot work without John Wick himself.

There’s No John Wick Without Keanu Reeves, And The Continental Proved It

The Continental Had Great Worldbuilding, But Lacked Presence

While The Continental: From the World of John Wick was a decent spinoff series, it proved that upcoming John Wick movies and TV shows would suffer without Keanu Reeves. The Continental was a Peacock original miniseries which starred Colin Woodell as a young Winston Scott in the 1970s, detailing how he came to be the proprietor of the New York branch of “The Continental” chain of H๏τels, which provide a safe haven for professional ᴀssᴀssins. The series only aired three episodes, and it scored a decent 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it was still a far cry from the films.

Although The Continental built more on the expanding world of John Wick, offering Winston Scott a proper backstory and providing more history of how The Continental came to be, it didn’t quite capture the balance in runtime or the overall feel of the movies. As a result, the series has received somewhat mixed reviews. Therefore, while it functioned well as a miniseries, it is no surprise that a The Continental update stated it was unlikely for renewal for season 2, as the characters could not live up to the presentation standards set by Keanu Reeves’ John Wick in the films.

John Wick’s Next Spinoff Will Include Keanu Reeves

Ballerina Will Feature John Wick In Some Capacity

Fortunately, the John Wick franchise’s next spinoff will include Keanu Reeves once more. From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is an upcoming movie set between the events of the third and fourth films. This timeline allows Ballerina to have an easy John Wick universe connection as it means Keanu Reeves is free to return without retconning Wick’s death in the fourth movie. Ballerina is scheduled to be released by Lionsgate in June, and is said to follow ballerina-ᴀssᴀssin Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) as she begins training in the traditions of the Ruska Roma to avenge her father’s death.

With John Wick returning in Ballerina, we will see Keanu Reeves as the fan favorite hitman grace our screens for the first time since 2023’s conclusive ending. However, there’s a host of other actors joining John Wick’s cast in Ballerina, including newcomers Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Norman Reedus. While it will be great to see John Wick again, as his inclusion makes the spinoff much more interesting for fans of the franchise, with his character not being the focus of the film, the movie may still be at risk of poor reception, mirroring The Continental spinoff.

John Wick 5 Starring Keanu Reeves Is The Safest Option For The Franchise

Spinoffs Are Fun, But They Can’t Replace A John Wick Sequel

While spinoffs are certainly fun, they simply cannot replace a John Wick sequel, so John Wick: Chapter 5 starring Keanu Reeves is probably the safest option for the franchise. The Continental miniseries tried to shift the focus onto another character in the John Wick universe, a young Winston Scott, in order to flesh out the world of the ᴀssᴀssins. However, the majority of fans did not care enough about Winston Scott in the movies to dedicate themselves to an entire TV series. Therefore, it is important for prominent and likable characters to return in the John Wick: Chapter 5 sequel.

As the тιтular character, it doesn’t make much sense to have another John Wick movie without John Wick himself appearing. That being said, the next installment will need to address the fourth movie’s ending, which suggested John Wick had finally met his demise. Consequently, John Wick: Chapter 5 could be similar to the first movie, in that the character will somehow need to come back from the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, mirroring 2014’s movie arc of him coming out of retirement. Either way, Keanu Reeves’ return is a safe option for the franchise’s next John Wick project, as he has proven his likability.

I Love The World Of John Wick, But I Love Keanu Reeves’ Character Even More

More John Wick Content With Keanu Reeves Will Always Be Better

The truth is that, while I love the world of John Wick, it is Keanu Reeves’ character that makes me want to keep watching. Following the success of the first movie, director Chad Stahelski explained his plan for building a John Wick universe which focused on many different characters and aspects of the ᴀssᴀssin’s world. In fact, Stahelski recalled stating, “let’s go full Lord of the Rings” in reference to the franchise’s expansive world. So, while it makes sense that spinoffs about different characters will be explored to realize Stahelski’s plan, the franchise may move away from John Wick’s story.

Keanu Reeves has notably done many of his own stunts in John Wick, showing his dedication to the role. The inherent likability of the actor in real life even carries over into the movies, as John Wick is actually quite a funny character, despite his murderous profession, with the franchise poking fun at its own genre at times. From the beginning, John Wick’s tragic story and extraordinary combat skills captured the audience’s attention, drawing us to the franchise in 2014. So, while worldbuilding is great, more John Wick content will always be better, especially with Keanu Reeves at the helm.

John Wick

Created by

Derek Kolstad

First Film

John Wick

Latest Film

John Wick: Chapter 4

Upcoming Films

Ballerina

First TV Show

The Continental

Summary

“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 ᴀssᴀssins.

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