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Money talks so the Baba Yaga walks! Lionsgate came out in full force at the 2025 CinemaCon in Las Vegas and with their panel, they were full on John Wick as they made some surprise announcements concerning the blockbuster franchise. The ambitious plans include resurrecting Keaau reeves for John Wick 5 along with confirming that Donnie Yen will indeed star in and helm a Caine spin-off film. There was also mention of a prequel animated film so let’s lock n load and hit it all!
Keanu Reeves Returns for JOHN WICK 5!
Say what you will about how the fourth film ended and personally I thought it was perfect but with money to be made, Lionsgate made sure this wasn’t an April Fool’s Joke and confirmed that series star Keanu Reeves will in fact return for a fifth film. Chad Stahelski, without question, will return as well to direct and produce along with Thunder Road producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee.
“Keanu, Chad, Basil, and Erica would not return unless they had something truly phenomenal and fresh to say with these characters and this world,” Adam Fogelson, chair of the studio’s Motion Picture Group, said in a statement. “We can’t wait for audiences to see where the journey takes us next.”
It’s important to note that Stahelski shot two different endings for the fourth film with one showing him very much alive. When tested, the ambiguous ending was more of a hit so they went with that one but there are so many things they can do with the resurrection.
Hopefully, they will come up with a story that will cater to the franchise and will bring back Reeves the right way. Spoiler Alert as Reeves’ iconic assassin met his maker in the last entry after achieving mission success and many felt that this was a perfect way to say goodbye to the character and his arc. We shall have to wait and see.
Donnie Yen Set to Unleash the Kung Fu-Gun Fu in CAINE!
The news of Donnie Yen starring in and helming a Caine spin-off John Wick film has been rumbling through Hollywood for months now, but Lionsgate made it official today that Yen will headline the project and direct. The spin-off is set to start filming in Hong Kong later this year and this will be the first English language western film to be directed by Yen. Caine was introduced in John Wick: Chapter 4, with the action icon playing a blind assassin who gets tasked by the High Table to kill his old friend John Wick or his daughter will be killed. Caine, of course, finds a way to help his friend and take down the High table to a degree.
Franchise helmer Chad Stahelski will, produce via his 87Eleven Entertainment production banner, along with his franchise producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee for Thunder Road. Mattson Tomlin is penning the script based off a rough draft by Robert Askins.
To add more sweetness to this spin-off is the fact that Lionsgate is saying that Yen pretty much has cart blanche with the film so they want it done the right way and it will infuse the flavor of his most recent modern-day actioners. Stahelski has said that this will be a Kung Fu infused John Wick story. Yen’s Caine was a hit with fans and mainstream audiences alike, so it was really a no-brainer to make this one of the spin-offs of the franchise.
Keanu Reeves Set to star in the Animated John Wick Prequel Movie!
Another huge announcement at CinemaCon is that Lionsgate is set to make an animated prequel film for the John Wick universe and that Keanu Reeves will lend his voice to the project. The as of now untitled ANIME feature will throw it back to before what happened in the first John Wick movie that launched the franchise in 2014.
The animated feature will showcase how Wick was mission success on the infamous “Impossible Task” that has been teased multiple times in the films. We will finally get to see how the ordeal went down that required Wick to kill every one of his rivals in a single night, which was a task that eventually won the baba Yaga his freedom from his obligation to the High Table and let the famed assassin live out the rest of his life with his wife Helen. We all know how that worked out though.
Reeves is set to produce that anime alongside Stahelski, Iwanyk, and Lee. Shannon Tindle will be the one to direct, and Vanessa Taylor will write the script.
