John Wick 5 Will Bring Keanu Back From The Dead, Two More Spin-Offs Still In The Works

Some legends just don't die, and that apparently goes twice for the Baba Yaga. Ever since the credits rolled on "John Wick: Chapter 4" and its conveniently ambiguous ending that saw Keanu Reeves' vengeful assassin John Wick "dead" and buried (though without any actual body in sight), fans have been waiting on pins and needles for his inevitable return. The filmmakers and cast have all essentially said the same thing in the years since, maintaining that the franchise could potentially continue with its leading man in tow ... though only if they cracked a story that truly called for it.

Well, that time has officially come. Lionsgate is one of the many studios currently hosting panels at this year's CinemaCon at Las Vegas, the annual event geared towards wowing theater owners and attendees with all sorts of exclusive footage and breaking news. Today's development confirms what many of us expected all along: Keanu Reeves will return as John Wick in the currently-untitled "John Wick 5." And, what's more, we also know that the films will be supplemented with two snazzy-sounding spin-offs, as well. We previously reported that the filmmakers were moving forward on a film centered on Donnie Yen's scene-stealing Caine from the last film, with Yen also set to direct the feature. Separately, news also broke late last year that our favorite dog-loving hero would receive an anime prequel film purported to tell the lead character's backstory taking place well before the first movie. Indiewire reports that "Ultraman: Rising" director Shannon Tindle will be directing that one, with "Game of Thrones" veteran Vanessa Taylor writing the script. Lionsgate confirmed that both of these projects remain in the works and will arrive sometime in the future.

Who knew that the repeated refrain of "Be seein' you" in the various "John Wick" movies would end up being so predictive of the franchise's own future? "John Wick" received a very fitting farewell in "Chapter 4," but the work is simply never over ... not when there's so much more money to be made, that is. Lionsgate is clearly hungry for more where that came from, while Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski must have settled on a proper screenplay that's to both of their liking. No other details are known about the plot or the characters involved, but the news that Reeves will once again put on his bulletproof suit and likely slaughter a whole bunch of faceless goons with one headshot after another is enough to whip fans into a frenzy.

The news of the franchise continuing to expand with "John Wick 5" and two subsequent spin-offs is hardly a surprise, considering that the series is already in the middle of an expansion. Though not watched by many, the Peacock streaming series "The Continental" largely came and went (though not before being reviewed extremely negatively by yours truly) without even coming close to matching the hype of the various movies. Meanwhile, this year's upcoming "Ballerina" hopes to rekindle that excitement between Ana de Armas' debut as a rival killer and Reeves' cameo appearance as John Wick. Conventional wisdom would dictate that the response to "Ballerina" would go a long way towards influencing the development of any further spin-offs, but CinemaCon simply isn't the stage for any half-measures. Lionsgate is pushing their chips all the way in on the "John Wick" series, and time will tell if this pays off for them or not.

Stay tuned to /Film for more updates as they come in.