John Wick Director Responds to Fans Demanding a Fifth Movie: 'It's a Business'

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John Wick director Chad Stahelski revealed why he remains wary of a fifth installment in the hit neo-noir action film series.

Per The Direct, Stahelski discussed the overwhelming requests from fans for another mainline entry into the John Wick franchise, with the director explaining why he was approaching the topic with such caution. "Look, I mean this in a good way, it's a business," Stahelski said. "When you have something successful, yeah, of course, you want to keep doing it. But it's very easy to be repetitive. The trick is how you be repetitive with individuality. How do you put your authorship or your agency into something that's obviously been done three times before?"

The director also previously claimed he had refused an offer from Lionsgate to begin production on John Wick 5 immediately after John Wick: Chapter 4, with Stahelski citing concerns that the films might appear too similar. "I think the greatest part is that, after each John Wick, I took two years off to go live and get better; to travel, to read more, and to get better," he explained. "I don't know how to do a movie back-to-back and get better for the second one. You'd see John Wick 4 and then John Wick 4B, right? Same camera, same colors, same action, same style of choreography, same storylines. I had no time to be influenced by life and bring life back in, so I just thought it was kind of a cheat."

The Future of John Wick

The director additionally claimed he might still return to the John Wick universe after a break from the franchise. Stahelski revealed he wanted to weigh his options with the series and further stated that he would only return if it wasn't "just a cash grab." He also wanted to discuss John Wikc's future with actor Keanu Reeves, who portrayed the titular hitman throughout all four films, before he made his decision.

Though the infamous Baba Yaga might not return to the big screen for the foreseeable future, John Wick fans might still be interested in the upcoming spinoff film Ballerina, which is set to take place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4. Ballerina producer Erica Lee also previously confirmed there was another unannounced John Wick side-project currently in the works, though she refrained from revealing details regarding the spinoff's plot or scheduled release date.