Keanu Reeves to Make Surprise Return to John Wick Universe in Chapter 5 and an Animated Prequel

• At CinemaCon on Tuesday, April 1, Lionsgate revealed plans for John Wick: Chapter 5.
• Keanu Reeves will reprise his role in the action sequel, as well as voice the character in a newly announced animated prequel movie.
• The last John Wick film came in 2023, and Ana de Armas leads a new spinoff Ballerina, in theaters this June.

Keanu Reeves is doubling down on more John Wick movies.

The actor, 60, will reprise his role as the titular assassin in John Wick: Chapter 5, Lionsgate announced at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas on Tuesday, April 1.

Thunder Road producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, franchise director-producer Chad Stahelski, and star-producer Reeves are developing the sequel.

Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said in a statement, “Keanu, Chad, Basil and Erica would not return unless they had something truly phenomenal and fresh to say with these characters and this world. We can’t wait for audiences to see where the journey takes us next.”

Added Iwanyk and Lee, “It’s so important to get this story right and give John’s story the proper next step. It’s exciting to take the first step on that road.”

During the presentation, Lionsgate also revealed plans for an animated John Wick prequel film, with Reeves expected to voice the character there too.

That movie, directed by Shannon Tindle, takes place before the 2014 original film, depicting Wick as he “completes the Impossible Task — the killing of all of his rivals in one night — in order to free himself from his obligation to the High Table and earn the right to be with the love of his life, Helen,” per a synopsis.

Producer Stahelski said in a statement that he has “always been fascinated with anime,” adding that the animation style has “been a huge influence on me, especially with the John Wick series.”

“I feel John Wick is the perfect property for this medium — anime holds the potential to expand our world, our characters, and our action in ways unimaginable before,” says Stahelski.

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After the 2014 original, Reeves returned for sequels in 2017, 2019 and 2023. The John Wick universe expanded with a series, The Continental, on Peacock in 2023, and Ana de Armas stars in the spinoff film Ballerina, in theaters June 6, which also features a cameo from Reeves. The series John Wick: Under the High Table is also in the works.

In December 2024, Reeves addressed the possibility of starring in a fifth John Wick entry. “You can never say never — but my knees right now are saying, ‘You can’t do another John Wick,‘ ” he joked to CBS Mornings at the time. “So, my heart [wants to], but I don’t know if my knees can do it.”