John Wick 5 Has An Even Bigger Challenge Than Bringing Keanu Reeves’ Character Back From The Dead

It would be an almost insurmountable challenge to pull off John Wick: Chapter 5, and not just because Keanu Reeves’ iconic assassin character was killed off in the last movie. At the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, John faced the head honcho of the High Table in a climactic duel. He killed the Marquis, but took a fatal gunshot wound in the process. It was a poetic way to end John’s story; he finally defeated the High Table and found peace, reuniting with his late wife Helen in the hereafter.

Although John Wick: Chapter 4 was a perfect conclusion to the saga, the John Wick series is so popular, and has been so consistently great, that it hasn’t stopped fans from hoping that John Wick: Chapter 5 will eventually get made. There are ways to get around John’s death and do another movie — one wild theory suggests John Wick: Chapter 5 will follow John’s spirit through Hell — but bringing John back after his death isn’t the biggest challenge facing the next John Wick film.

Topping Chapter 4's Action Sequences Is John Wick 5's Biggest Challenge

John Wick 4 Has Some Of The Greatest Action Ever Committed To Film

Part of what made John Wick: Chapter 4 such a satisfying sendoff for the franchise is that it managed to top all the action that came before. The action set-pieces in Chapter 4 went even bigger and crazier than the previous three films. There’s an overhead videogame-style tracking shot of John firing exploding shotgun shells. The climax is a mythical quest to get to the top of a staircase full of goons — and it culminates in the hysterical slapstick gag of John getting thrown all the way back to the bottom of the stairs.

If Reeves does come back and make John Wick: Chapter 5, the biggest challenge won’t be retconning his death or following him through the afterlife; it’ll be topping the mind-blowing action scenes of Chapter 4. It’ll take some action sequence to top the Dragon’s Breath shootout or Herculean staircase climb. If anyone can top it, it’s Reeves and his trusty director Chad Stahelski, but it certainly won’t be easy.

John Wick 5's Action Being As Good As Chapter 4 Would Already Make It Worth It

If It's As Exhilarating As Chapter 4, Who Cares How They Bring John Back From The Dead?

Right now, the John Wick fan base is divided on whether or not a fifth movie is needed. If Reeves wants to get back in the bulletproof suit and slaughter another couple of hundred henchmen, no one will complain. But this story already got a perfect ending, and piling on another movie risks ruining that. If John Wick: Chapter 5 is somehow able to top the action in its predecessor — or even just match its high-octane intensity — then it’ll be worth taking that risk.

From Keanu Reeves’ performance to the worldbuilding, the John Wick movies have offered a lot more than just action. That said, seeing how each movie will top the previous one in terms of action sequences has been one of the most exciting things about the franchise. John Wick: Chapter 2 expanded the scope of the series with an international story, but it also leveled up the action. Parabellum and Chapter 4 did something similar, with both including some of the best fight scenes in the saga. As such, there’s no reason to believe John Wick 5 can’t do the same.

Part of the fun of the John Wick franchise is seeing the titular character in the most difficult, deadly scenarios in every movie. From facing dozens of enemies with just a firearm and five bullets to falling down hundreds of steps in a staircase and getting up again, we never know what John will have to do next. This alone is enough reason to get excited about John Wick 5 possibly happening, but there must be more to the sequel than that.

John Wick 5 Might Be A Tough Sell (Regardless Of How Good It Is)

John Wick 5 Has To Be Very Special

Custom Image by Milica Djordjevic

John Wick 5 getting the action right would help make the movie “worth it,” but that does not mean it will be easy for it to justify its existence. While the John Wick franchise has yet to disappoint when it comes to sequels, the end of Chapter 4 was all but perfect and left little room for the story to continue. John’s death might have been bittersweet, but it is difficult to imagine any other ending for such a character. Additionally, John’s death meant that his friends would be safe and that some stability would be brought back.

At a time when we have so many sequels, reboots, and cinematic universes, it might be tricky for John Wick 5 to present itself as something fresh regardless of how many new things it does. Interestingly, the same could have been said about John Wick: Chapter 2 considering how self-contained the first movie was. However, not only did the sequel justify its existence, but it left the franchise in a good position to get more installments now that John had been excommunicado. Still, John Wick 5’s task is arguably more difficult than Chapter 2’s.

Should John Wick 5 Really Happen?

Chapter 4’s Success Showed The Franchise Can Continue

From a financial standpoint, it makes sense why John Wick 5 is a serious possibility. Every John Wick movie has made more than the previous one at the box office, with Chapter 4 being the first to break the $400 million mark. While the films have been receiving great reviews since the first one in 2014, it is fair to say that John Wick has only recently confirmed itself as a major franchise that can compete with other established IPs on the big screen. Chapter 4’s success proved that audiences will show up for Keanu Reeves’ character.

The biggest obstacle is, of course, the fact that John Wick is dead as far as we know. For there to be a John Wick: Chapter 5 with Keanu Reeves, the sequel would have to find a clever way to explain why and how John can be back. There should also be a thematic reason for it, something that can set the tone for the story and make the sequel feel special. John Wick has earned our trust after four incredible movies, but retconning John’s death and bringing him back for another film will not be an easy task.