Back in May 2019, following the theatrical release of John Wick’s third outing, Parabellum, John Wick: Chapter 4 was announced with a slated release date of May 21, 2021 to hit screens alongside Keanu Reeves‘ other tentpole franchise return, The Matrix Resurrections. At that time, of course, little did anyone know what was about to shake the course of the entire world.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, on May 1, 2021, Chapter 4 was rescheduled to March 24, 2023. Not only that, but Lionsgate also decided that it probably wasn’t the best idea to move forward with their initial, ambitious plan of shooting the 4th and 5th entries back-to-back.
And this was all confirmed yesterday in an all-new announcement teaser shared by Lionsgate yesterday that replicated the iconic scene where the bounty was first placed on John Wick’s head complete with the official release date chalked up in huge letters on that now-infamous green chalkboard.
Be that as it may, the mere fact that John Wick is still coming back for more, albeit later than expected, is in itself always great news. In terms of the plot, no have been revealed just yet. What we do know, though, is that the mastermind behind the original scripts, Derek Kolstad, didn’t have a hand in the writer’s room this time around, with Shay Hatten (Army of the Dead, Army of Thieves) and Michael Finch (Predators, American Assassin, Hitman: Agent 47) stepping in as co-writers. Despite the screenwriting switch around, the franchise’s habitual helmer, Chad Stahelski is back on directing duties once more.
In terms of cast announcements, we know that the singer-songwriter, model, and actress, Rina Sawayama will be making her feature film debut and will be joined by both familiar and fresh faces in the franchise including Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Shamier Anderson, Clancy Brown, and Scott Adkins.
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 is set to release in cinemas on March 24, 2023, and when it comes to JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 5 we can only presume that that will still probably go ahead sometime in the unpredictable future.
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