3 Movies From One of the 21st Century’s Best Action Franchises Are Hits on HBO Max (& There’s More To Come)

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According to FlixPatrol, which measures the popularity of titles on various streaming services, three John Wick films rank in the top 10 on HBO Max. The original John Wick is in second place, behind only Oscar frontrunner One Battle After Another. John Wick: Chapter 2 is in fifth place, while John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum comes in eighth. The franchise’s prolific success on streaming is encouraging, as Lionsgate has no plans of slowing things down.

The John Wick Franchise Has a Bright Future

Admittedly, the John Wick franchise hit a bit of a snag last summer with spinoff Ballerina, which underwhelmed at the box office (reportedly losing nearly $100 million). Despite that performance, Lionsgate still has notable plans for John Wick moving forward. There’s another spinoff in development, one that revolves around Donnie Yen’s fan-favorite character Caine. No release date has been set as of this writing, but we do know Yen is directing in addition to starring. Rina Sawayama, who played Akira in John Wick: Chapter 4, has also joined the spinoff’s cast. While viewers are excited to see Caine come to fruition, there’s an even bigger John Wick film on the horizon.

At CinemaCon last year, Lionsgate officially announced John Wick 5 is in development, with director Chad Stahelski and Reeves returning. Of all the John Wick projects in the pipeline, this is arguably the one that’s most fascinating — and not just because it’s a new mainline installment. As fans are aware, John Wick seemingly died at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, finally finding peace after his grueling conflict against the High Table. This means that Stahelski and Co. have to come up with a convincing explanation for how John is still alive. In the past, Stahelski has suggested John Wick 5 may not come to fruition unless the creative team can crack the right story, which ultimately may be for the best. As much as viewers love seeing John Wick mow through hordes of enemies, it would be disappointing if the setup for a new sequel came across as contrived.

The John Wick franchise is expanding to other mediums (a AAA video game is expected to be announced soon), but the film series is the crown jewel of the IP. A direct follow-up to Ballerina is unlikely to happen given how that movie fared, but the five movies to date have brought in over $1 billion globally against relatively modest production budgets. It’s understandable why Lionsgate is interested in keeping the franchise alive, attempting to find new corners to explore. If handled properly, both Caine and John Wick 5 have a lot of potential, so hopefully those get off the ground soon.

Time might be of the essence if the John Wick series is to continue. Reeves reportedly has one condition before he agrees to John Wick 5; he wants to make sure the stunts are tailored around whatever physical limitations he has now, which makes sense considering the actor’s age. As hard as it might be to believe, Reeves is now in his 60s, and the John Wick films were very demanding productions. Reeves wants to ensure he can still handle the action and deliver an authentic experience for fans, so it’ll be fascinating to see what the team cooks up. In the meantime, fans can rewatch John’s previous adventures as they wait for the next sequel to make some headway.

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