John Wick: Chapter 4 ended at the grave site of Baba Yaga, but was he definitely dead? Whether that was the original plan or not doesn’t matter anymore. The film made way too much money to keep him buried. Lionsgate is already in early development on John Wick: Chapter 5. But whether the world’s greatest hitman is resurrected or not, the franchise itself is definitely alive and well. A studio executive confirmed Lionsgate is shopping a new John Wick TV series.
Deadline reports that Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns provided an update about another John Wick spinoff, a TV series, during a Morgan Stanley media conference. He said the studio is going to “take one of our great action franchises starring Keanu Reeves” out to the market as a television series.
That reference to Reeves doesn’t mean he’ll star on the show. It only confirms what franchise Burns meant. It actually seems unlikely John Wick himself would be a big part of the show. (And not just because the character might be dead.) Last November, director Chad Stahelski spoke about a potential spinoff in development. He said the show would likely expand the universe of the High Table, and that it would be fun “to work with a different cast and a different story structure without John Wick.” He also said he’d like to see other stars from Chapter 4 get their own chance to shine. The director specifically mentioned Donnie Yen, Rina Sawayama, and Shamier Anderson as potential cast members.
This unnamed spinoff would be the second John Wick show. Peacock’s three-part prequel series The Continental was the first. Last year, Stahelski also said Lionsgate was developing a John Wick Japanese anime series. Burns didn’t provide any updates on that show’s current status, though he did discuss a Twilight anime spinoff.
If the new John Wick spinoff series sparkles enough with audiences, it could lead the way for the John Wick anime to also reach the market. There’s plenty of room under television’s High Table for all these spinoff shows—especially if Baba Yaga is still alive like some sort of hitman vampire.
