Lionsgate confirmed on Thursday that the John Wick series will have a fifth film that is set to be shot back-to-back with the franchise’s fourth installment in early 2021.
The Keanu Reeves franchise were confirmed in a quarterly call by Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer, who confirmed that production will begin when “Keanu becomes available early next year.
Since debuting in 2014, the acclaimed action franchise has made over $579 million internationally.
“We’re also busy preparing scripts for the next two installments of our John Wick action franchise,” said Feltheimer.
“John Wick 4 slated to hit theaters Memorial Day weekend 2022.”
Initially set for release on May 21, 2021, the fourth has now been pushed back to May 27, 2022 due to complications surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With the appetite for fresh content at an all-time high and options for consumers dwindling due to the global shutdown, we made it a strategic priority to be one of the first major studios back into production,” Feltheimer said.
“Over the past five months, we’ve put together a thoughtful strategy to restart production with protocols to best ensure the safety of cast and crew.”
Feltheimer noted that Lionsgate has commenced with production on the horror film The Devil’s Light, and plans to gear up “physical production to begin shooting several other films.”
“These efforts put us in a strong position,” he said, “to capitalize on a market short on supply.”
Reeves continued with the filming of The Matrix 4 in Berlin, Germany for Warner Bros. after the pandemic halted its production in March.
He will be seen next in Bill & Ted Face the Music, which is slated to release on August 28 in select theaters and video-on-demand services, and on the video game Cyberpunk 2077, which is coming to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 19.