'John Wick 4' Will Take Production To Europe, Won't Shoot Back-To-Back With 'John Wick 5' Anymore

Back in August of last year, John Wick fans received the fantastic news that there would be at least two more John Wick sequels coming down the pipeline. In fact, John Wick 4 and John Wick 5 were slated to shoot back-to-back because the idea that director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves had for the fourth film was so big that it started rolling over into another sequel. Unfortunately, Lionsgate is pumping the brakes a little bit on John Wick sequels, opting to shoot only John Wick 4 on its own starting in June.

Collider has the update on John Wick 4 production, which will primarily take place in Berlin and Paris starting in June. Most of the story is said to take place in those two cities, but there will be some shooting done in New York City and Japan, with both locations also having a place in the narrative.

We're not exactly sure where John Wick's story is going next, but it will likely involve the deadly assassin seeking out revenge against The High Table after the powers that be wanted him taken out in John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum. He'll probably be getting some help from Laurence Fishburne as the Bowery King, who had his crew picked up a wounded Wick at the end of the last movie and who also has an axe to grind against the High Table. As for whether or not The Continental's manager Winston (Ian McShane) will be in Wick's good graces, that remains to be seen.

Just recently, we learned John Wick franchise architect and writer Derek Kolstad wasn't involved with the writing of the upcoming John Wick sequels. That's a bit concerning, especially since the main writer for the movie is said to be Mike Finch, who delivered the underwhelming American Assassin, Predators, and Countdown. It would be a shame for the John Wick franchise to slowly spiral out of greatness simply because Lionsgate made a poor decision behind the scenes.

As for John Wick 5, that's presumably still happening at some point. But it's likely that scheduling for Keanu Reeves to shoot two movies back-to-back became a trickier prospect as timetables were pushed further back due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.