In the same way that Die Hardinspired a multitude of “Die Hard on a ___” knockoffs in the decade after its release, the popularity of John Wickhas led to a new wave of action-packed revenge films that combine sharp humor, neo-noir sensibilities, intense shootouts, and well-choreographed hand-to-hand combat.
While the universe is set to expand this summer with the release of the spinoff Ballerina: From The World of John Wick that stars Ana de Armas, it remains to be seen if Keanu Reeveswould ever return to star in a fifth installment in the main series.
The obvious reason for trepidation is that John Wick: Chapter 4 had a fairly definitive conclusion, in which John is killed after his final battle with the Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård). Although there is no shortage of iconic film franchises that have managed to bring back their main heroes to life, it would be hard for another sequel to top the incredible ambition and success that John Wick: Chapter 4 was met with.
The ‘John Wick’ Films Have Become Increasingly Epic
The John Wick franchise is unique because it has gradually increased its scale with each installment. It may be easy to forget now that the first film is largely regarded as being one of the greatest action films ever made, but the original John Wick was a very small, low-budget film that was nearly sent directly to VOD and DVD if Lionsgate hadn’t changed their minds at the last minute. After proving to be an underdog success, John Wick allowed director Chad Stalhelski to move beyond the streamlined, neo-noir mystery of the first film so that John Wick: Chapter 2could be an international espionage adventure that began developing more of the mythology surrounding the High Table. John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellumproved to be even more grandiose in scale; by setting up John on a race against time as he is pitted against gangsters and assassins from around the world desperate to collect the bounty that the High Table has placed on him, Stahelski was able to draw inspiration from both the mob epics of Martin Scorseseand the recent success of international action films like The Raid: Redemption.
