John Wick

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

John Wick is a retired assassin who returns to his old ways after a group of Russian gangsters steal his car and kill his puppy which was given to him by his late wife Helen. Forced to honor a debt from his past life, John Wick is sent to assassinate a target he has no wish to kill, where he faces betrayal at the hands of his sponsor. John Wick is declared excommunicado after killing an international crime lord on Continental grounds, where he sets out to save himself from bounty hunters and assassins. John Wick takes his fight against the High Table global as he seeks out more powerful players in the underworld from different countries.

In Their Own Story

The film was developed in 2012. Principal photography began on September 25, 2013, and wrapped on December 20, 2013. Principal photography for Chapter 2 began on October 26, 2015. The film premiered in February 2017. The third film was announced in October 2016, production began in early 2018, and it was released in May 2019. In May 2019, before the release of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Chad Stahelski confirmed on a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" thread that discussion of another film had arisen. Keanu Reeves had also stated that he would continue as long as the films are successful. Lionsgate announced the film during John Wick 3's opening week, with a scheduled release date of May 21, 2021. In April 2020, though, during an interview with Collider, Stahelski revealed that the film would most likely not make its 2021 release date due to his commitment to The Matrix Resurrections. He also revealed, during the same interview, that a 100-page "scriptment" (part script/part outline) had been written for the film. The screenplay was written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch, as the studio decided to move on from series creator Derek Kolstad. Production was due to commence in June 2021 in Paris and Berlin, with additional filming in Japan and New York City. Partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was released on March 24, 2023. In June 2021, Donnie Yen, Rina Sawayama, Shamier Anderson, Bill Skarsgård, and Hiroyuki Sanada joined the cast. Principal photography began on June 28, 2021. In October 2021, principal photography had wrapped.

Reader's Guide

In July 2017, Lionsgate announced the development of a spinoff film written by Shay Hatten and titled Ballerina. The studio intends to expand the franchise with installments set within the same fictional world. The story, written as a speculative script based on Hatten's love for the John Wick films before being purchased by Lionsgate, involves a young woman who is raised to be an assassin, and seeks revenge on the hitmen who killed her family. Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee were to serve as producers. The project was to be developed by Thunder Road Films. In October 2019, Len Wiseman signed onto the project as director, with Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski serving as executive producer and producer, respectively. The film would follow the same ballerina character previously portrayed by Unity Phelan in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. In May 2020, Stahelski stated that Wiseman had read the script earlier, and approached the studio with a pitch of how he would develop the project, based on Hatten's draft, for which the proof of concept had previously been uploaded to YouTube in September 2017. Stahelski met with Wiseman and approached executives to hire the filmmaker. He confirmed that his team and he would work closely with Wiseman on the action sequences and stunts for the film, while acknowledging that Wiseman's filmmaking style would add variety to the franchise. At that point, Wiseman and Hatten were working on a newer draft of the script. In May 2020, it was reported that the studio was looking for an actress, with Chloë Grace Moretz as the template for the kind of talent for whom they were looking. In October 2021, Ana de Armas entered early negotiations to portray the eponymous character. By April 2022 at CinemaCon, Lionsgate announced that de Armas would star in the lead role, with principal photography to commence later that year. In July of the same year, de Armas was revealed to have personally selected Emerald Fennell to contribute to the script as one of its writers. In September 2022, principal photography was announced to have been delayed from its previous tentative start and would commence later that fall. In November 2022, principal photography was scheduled to begin imminently. Reprising roles were announced for Ian McShane and Keanu Reeves as Winston Scott and John Wick, respectively, followed by Anjelica Huston as The Director and Lance Reddick as Charon. Filming began on November 7, 2022, in Prague, Czech Republic. The movie's official title was announced as From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, with the release of its trailer in September 2024. Ballerina was released in the United States on June 6, 2025. It was delayed from a June 7, 2024, release.

Did You Know?

• The John Wick franchise began with the release of John Wick (2014), which was followed by three sequels: Chapter 2 (2017), Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019), and Chapter 4 (2023).
• The films have earned a collective gross of more than $1 billion worldwide.
• The spin-off film Ballerina was released in the United States on June 6, 2025, delayed from a June 7, 2024 release.
• In May 2024, it was officially announced that a spin-off film centered around Caine was in development, with Donnie Yen reprising his role as the titular character.
• Principal photography for John Wick: Chapter 4 began on June 28, 2021, and wrapped in October 2021.