Oh yeah, we're thinking he's back. Lionsgate has confirmed that John Wick 5 is in the works. This is particularly surprising, as the next installment of the action franchise, John Wick 4, has yet to even be filmed, let alone released. Still, the studio is bullish on keeping Keanu Reeves on board as the title assassin for the foreseeable future. With that, they are planning to shoot the next two installments back to back.

The news was confirmed during a recent Lionsgate quarterly earnings call. At this point, details are scarce but the hope is to shoot both sequels next year after Keanu Reeves finishes up work on another sequel in one of his famous franchises, The Matrix 4. Lionsgate CEO John Feltheimer had this to say about it.

"We're also busy preparing scripts for the next two installments of our John Wick action franchise, with John Wick 4 slated to hit theatres Memorial Day weekend 2022. We hope to shoot both John Wick 4 & 5 back to back when Keanu becomes available early next year."

It has not yet been revealed if Chad Stahelski will return to direct, but that seems highly likely Stahelski co-directed the first entry alongside David Leitch and has flown solo for the sequels. Stahelski has already been confirmed for John Wick 4. If indeed the movies do shoot back-to-back, it wouldn't make sense to have another director take over. Shay Hatten is set to pen the sequel. Derek Kolstad wrote the first three installments.

Originally, the fourth entry was slated to arrive in May 2021. Unfortunately, the current production shut down Hollywood is facing has made that impossible. That may have given the filmmakers some additional time to hammer out the story for not one but two further installments. Aside from the movies, Starz and Lionsgate have additionally partnered for a TV series taking place in the same universe titled The Continental. A spin-off, titled Ballerina, is also in the works.

The most recent entry, John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, was released in 2019. It picked up with Mr. Wick who, after killing a member of the High Table, winds up on the run, stripped of the organization's protective services. The assassin ends up with a $14 million bounty on his head. He is forced to fight his way through New York to escape with his life. The ending left the door wide open for a sequel.

John Wick flew in somewhat under the radar in 2014 but quickly found popularity on home video. Each subsequent entry has grossed more than its predecessor at the box office, with the franchise earning $573 million at the box office to date. John Wick 4 is currently set to hit theaters on May 27, 2022. John Wick 5 does not yet have a release date set. We'll be sure to keep you posted as further details are made available. This news comes to us via Deadline.