John Wick's Ian McShane, who plays John Wick's enemy in the franchise, has hinted that John Wick 4 may be entering production sometime this year. The first John Wick starring Keanu Reeves came out in 2014 and helped spawn two successful sequels. The first film grossed $86 million worldwide on a $20 million production budget, with each following installment being a bigger hit than the last.
The latest film in the franchise, John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, was said to potentially be the end of the John Wick trilogy. John Wick 3 ends with an intense fight to protect The Continental in which Manager Winston, played by McShane, shoots John Wick. However, the last moments of the film reveal Wick isn't dead. He's taken to the Bowery King and is presented an opportunity for revenge, allowing for a rather seamless transition for John Wick 4. Sadly, it became difficult to get going on John Wick 4 as the COVID-19 pandemic caused a wave of production shutdowns in the U.S. The film was originally given a release date of May 21, 2021, but Reeves' involvement in both John Wick 4 and The Matrix 4 created difficulty for the film's shared release date. John Wick 4 is now slated to release on May 27, 2022.
After a year of delays and little information on the franchise, McShane has shared with Collider that the studio may be gearing up for production on John Wick 4 at some point in 2021. McShane's full quote can be read below:
"Keanu [Reeves] and I exchanged New Year's greetings and said, "Hope to see you this year." I know the script is written, and they're hoping to do it this year. I know they announced they were gonna do [John Wick 4] and [John Wick 5] together, but who knows. The studios announce all sorts of things. No doubt, at some point this year, we're gonna do John Wick 4."
Lionsgate did officially announce that John Wick 5 was going to shoot back to back with John Wick 4 as soon as Keanu Reaves becomes available in early 2021. As the film industry tries to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, it makes sense that the studio would rely on an established franchise film with high box office earnings like John Wick to help recover moving forward. McShane commented on the franchise's continually growing success stating, "They got such a good cast for the first one and it was a very good script. I thought the second one wasn't quite as good, but people by then loved it and went with it. I think the third one was really terrific, so it lived up to it. I always thought it had legs because of Keanu, a dead wife, a dog, a gun, and a great car. It had all the elements, so how can you fail?"
In some ways, it's not surprising that the film will begin shooting this year based on its new slated release in May of 2022, but it's comforting to get an insight on the production from McShane himself. Based on the growing success of the franchise, it's easy to assume that John Wick 4 and John Wick 5 will be well received and continue the legacy of John Wick in an entertaining continuation. Although fans are still unsure exactly when and where production for John Wick 4 is set to start, it's great to hear that things will be moving forward within the year and that the cast is still enthusiastic for their adventures in the John Wick franchise.
Source: Collider
