Director Chad Stahelski says John Wick franchise is taking a rest

Director Chad Stahelski has created four John Wick movies – the latest being John Wick: Chapter 4 –but after some reflection, he's decided that he's taking a pause.

Come March 23, 2023, fans may want to savour every moment of the almost three-hour-long movie because once the credits roll, it'll be some time till fans can catch John Wick 5, 6 or maybe even 7 if it happens.

"In our minds, Keanu and I are done for the moment. We're going to give John Wick a rest. I'm sure the studio has a plan. If everyone loves it and it goes kooky, then we'll take a quiet minute," said Stahelski in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. 

"Wicks always, for some weird reason, always get the latest release date in Japan. It's always like, three months later. If it's the same this time, we'll do a Japanese tour and release the movie in September."

"Keanu and I will take the long trip to Tokyo, we'll sit in the Imperial Hotel Scotch Bar and go, "What do you think?" We'll have a couple 20-year-old whiskies and write some ideas on napkins. If those ideas stick, maybe we'll make a movie."

The first John Wick movie released in 2014 and followed the titular character, played by actor Keanu Reeves, who seeks out for revenge against the men who killed his puppy, a gift from his late wife.

Three movies after and we see Wick with a price on his head and an even bigger fight – this time, taking his fight with the High Table globally from New York, Paris, Japan and Berlin.

Although a John Wick: Chapter 5 and potential sequels are not off the table, a "maybe" is not the most comforting to hear.

Fortunately for fans, a spin-off film titled Ballerina may just be the cure.

ALSO READ: John Wick: Chapter 4 gets longest runtime in the series, clocking near 3 hours

This article was first published in Geek Culture.