Keanu Reeves has had an awesome run playing the badass assassin John Wick. After four films that raked in over $1 billion worldwide, Reeves has proven time and again that he’s willing to push his body to the limit for the franchise.
But as the 59-year-old star recently admitted that he would love to make another John Wick movie, but there’s one obstacle that might stand in the way of John Wick 5… his knees.
“You can never say never,” Reeves told CBS News, reflecting on the possibility of returning as the titular assassin. “My knees right now are saying, ‘I can’t do another John Wick.’ So my heart does, but I don’t know if my knees can do it.”
Fans of the series will remember that John Wick: Chapter 4 appeared to conclude John’s journey, with the character seemingly dying due to his injuries after a climactic duel at the Basilica of Sacré Coeur.
In his final moments, John envisions his late wife, Helen, before the film cuts to Winston (Ian McShane) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) visiting John’s gravestone.
But that ending wasn’t always so ambiguous. Director Chad Stahelski revealed that an alternate ending was planned where John Wick’s survival was explicitly shown. That was filmed and tested with audiences.
Stahelski shared: “The audiences we tested with absolutely preferred the ambiguous ending.”
As you know, Reeves was firmly in favor of killing the character off. Producer Basil Iwanyk explained that Reeves is often physically and emotionally drained by the end of each film, making it hard for him to contemplate another installment.
Iwanyk said in a past interview: “After the second, third, and fourth movie, making these films is so exhausting and it destroys Keanu. By the end, he’s always like, ‘I can’t do this again.’”
In fact, Reeves reportedly begged to have John Wick definitively killed at the end of Chapter 4. The filmmakers, however, opted to leave a “10% little opening” for the character’s potential return.
Reeves previously told Entertainment Weekly: “I wouldn’t do a John Wick film without [director] Chad Stahelski. For me, it feels really right that John Wick finds peace.”
I have no idea if Reeves will return for another John Wick film, but they could always work his bad knees into the script! There’s no doubt Wick would have bad knees after what he’s gone through.
Despite Reeves’ uncertainty, Lionsgate wants to make John Wick 5. For now, though, there’s no official green light. Meanwhile, Reeves is set to reprise his role as John Wick in the upcoming spinoff Ballerina, which hits theaters on June 6, 2025.
