The upcoming John Wick 5 is one of the most unlikely sequels of all time given the protagonist’s fate in the final moments of the previous movie, but the film, if it happens, must somehow bring Keanu Reeves’ action hero back for another adventure. Although John Wick 5 is officially in development, many are understandably concerned about how the movie will manage to bring the character back. Reeves’ protagonist was killed at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4 following a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly duel with Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont on the orders of the High Table.
Facilitating Wick’s return in the upcoming sequel certainly won’t be easy, but this franchise has never been afraid of pushing boundaries and breaking rules. With each pᴀssing sequel, writer/director Chad Stahelski is drifting further and further from the gritty realism of the first movie and towards a more dynamic, electric style of storytelling that knows no limits. So there’s no doubt there is a way to bring John Wick back from the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, but the argument that he should is much harder to make.
Why John Wick Returns Is A More Important Question Than How He Returns
The Movie Needs To Justify Its Own Existence
The question of how John Wick could return from the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ is honestly the least interesting thing about John Wick 5. What audiences should be asking instead is why he would come back for another adventure. Throughout the whole series, Wick has been trying to repent for the crimes of his past and enter a peaceful retirement where he can live the rest of his days without the involvement of these endless crime families and dangerous syndicates. If the character somehow did survive the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4, then it’s safe to ᴀssume he’s found that exact peace.
With everybody under the impression that Wick is ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, there’s no reason for the character to come back into this seedy underworld and throw away the perfect retirement. Of course, it’s also possible that John Wick 5 will take place at some point in the character’s past, or even in an alternate future where he survived the duel in Paris, but this seems much less likely. It’s more fitting with the tone of the previous movies to ᴀssume that Wick merely faked his death, but this doesn’t explain why he would return.
John Wick: Chapter 4’s High Table Story Makes It Difficult For John Wick 5 To Raise The Stakes
The Next Movie Has To Somehow Increase The Tension Following John Wick 4
With each pᴀssing John Wick movie, it’s taken something increasingly high-stakes to drag the character back into the crossfire. The first movie saw Reeves’ protagonist take revenge on a group of criminals for the death of his dog, and by the second movie, it took something as serious as a blood oath to make him return. In John Wick: Chapter 3, the entire city had turned against him and the retired hitman had nowhere to hide. It seems unlikely that John Wick 5 will manage to raise the stakes even higher, especially given the High Table subplot in the last film.
Wick’s vendetta against the High Table was presented as the final battle for the relentless action hero, taking out the last people standing in the way between him and the peaceful retirement he’d always dreamed of. The franchise constantly made us aware that the High Table was supposed to be Wick’s most dangerous enemy, so it’s hard to imagine how John Wick 5 would retract this sentiment without it feeling cheap and lazy. The protagonist’s fate poses many challenges for John Wick 5, and most would agree that keeping him ᴅᴇᴀᴅ is the safest option.
What Could Make John Wick “Return From The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ” In John Wick 5?
There Must Be A Reason For His Return
If we ᴀssume that Wick somehow survived his encounter with Bill Skarsgard’s Marquis in the final moments of John Wick: Chapter 4, it logically follows that he’s living off-the-grid somewhere the High Table can’t find him. This would have taken a huge amount of effort to actually pull off, so it would require something even bigger to make him abandon this perfect escape plan.
Wick has frequently proven himself to be a selfless and compᴀssionate person despite his violent work.
John Wick 5 will need to dig deep into the character’s backstory to explain why his retirement couldn’t last; perhaps there’s another character whom he’s indebted to, or somebody that he loves finds themselves in grave danger. Wick has frequently proven himself to be a selfless and compᴀssionate person despite his violent work, so it would make sense that he’d sacrifice his peace to save somebody he loves.
John Wick
- Created by
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Derek Kolstad
- First Film
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John Wick
- Latest Film
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John Wick: Chapter 4
- Upcoming Films
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Ballerina
- First TV Show
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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.
