Don’t expect John Wick Chapter 5 any time soon – after Chapter 4, director Chad Stahelski is taking a well-deserved breather before tackling the next movie.
Chad Stahelski charted his rise in Hollywood as a go-to stuntman and stunt coordinator, working on the likes of The Matrix trilogy, Serenity, 300, Dredd, and The Wolverine.
In 2014, his directing career took flight with John Wick, the dog-avenging actioner that revived Keanu Reeves’ career and made his titular hitman a household name.
Stahelski has directed each of the four entries in the franchise so far, including the upcoming Chapter 4. A fifth movie is already on the cards, but the director needs to take some time out first.
We may be waiting a while for John Wick Chapter 5
In a new interview with Slash Film, Stahelski expressed his interest in continuing the series, but he might not even direct it. “Somewhere, maybe somebody will do it,” he said.
“I’m always saying, ‘This is my last one, this will never happen again.’ And I’ll say that now: This is my last one.
“Every time I come back to a ‘Wick,’ there’s been two or three years in between. That’s a lot of time for a human. You know how many pieces of art or music or museums or locations I’ve gone to in three years? Huge.
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“I mean, think of what you do in a year. What would you do in three? Don’t you think all that would influence you? I just don’t think I’d be very good jumping right into something. I need a little bit of time to get better. I’ve got to go practice.”
John Wick director “needs to get a hell of a lot better”
While also serving as a producer on Ana de Armas’ Ballerina spinoff, Stahelski is also developing a rebooted Highlander trilogy and a live-action movie adaptation of Ghost of Tsushima.
“I tried to get better as a storyteller in this one, but I’d be the same guy jumping back into the next one. I’ve got to get better. Keanu’s out there every day getting better — he’s acting, he’s trying new projects,” he continued.
“I’ve got to sit in a room and go, ‘Okay, how do I get better as a director?’ I don’t have the same choices. I can’t just direct, direct, direct. I’d have no time to expand. I just think I’d get sh*ttier and sh*ttier.
“I just think, in loyalty to the franchise, I need to get a hell of a lot better before I try to find [another story]. Because otherwise, if you’re not going to get better, if you’re not going to do something different, if you’re not going to try to expand and be artistically better, that’s kind of lame just to do it for a paycheck.”
John Wick: Chapter 4 hits cinemas on March 24, 2023. Find out more about the movie here.