The Legacy of John Wick and Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves' future with the John Wick franchise is up in the air, but the perfect action movie replacement for him has already been announced.
Keanu Reeves as John Wick with the sun rising behind him in John Wick: Chapter 4.
The actor's renaissance in recent years thanks to the acclaim of the John Wick movies gave him a successful franchise that keeps him in the spotlight. However, John Wick: Chapter 4's ending created major questions about whether Keanu Reeves will return for more sequels. The movie delivered a surprise by seemingly killing John Wick in the finale. If the death sticks, it would mark an end for Keanu's role in the franchise he launched, leaving him without a major action franchise again.
Keanu Reeves as John Wick holding a gun in John Wick: Chapter 4.
Action movies have always been a huge part of Keanu Reeves' career, and the John Wick franchise has proven to be a perfect fit for his talents. The minimal dialogue and focus on John Wick's assassin skills are key reasons behind the movies being so successful. Reeves has also lent his action movie star qualities to franchises like The Matrix or individual classics like Speed or Point Break. That is why he needs to find a new action movie franchise to be part of if John Wick 5 does not happen. The good news is that the perfect John Wick replacement for Keanu Reeves has already been announced.
Keanu Reeves Can Follow Chad Stahelski To Rainbow Six
The upcoming Rainbow Six movie is exactly the type of action movie franchise that Keanu Reeves can tackle next after John Wick. The new Tom Clancy movie is meant to serve as a continuation of the new continuity started by 2021's Without Remorse. Michael B. Jordan is returning to star as John Clark, but it was announced in early 2023 that Chad Stahelski has joined Rainbow Six as its director. Stahelski's decision to do the new action movie after helming all four John Wick movies to date easily provides a link for Keanu Reeves to join the cast.
Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski have developed an incredibly close relationship over the course of nearly a decade of making John Wick movies. It would make sense if they both want the collaboration to continue, even if they never come up with the right story for John Wick 5. While Stahelski has various other projects in development, Rainbow Six is the one that would best fit Reeves. He could join the ensemble cast as one of the highly skilled mercenaries who work with John Clark. This would then make Rainbow Six an action movie team-up between Keanu Reeves and Michael B. Jordan, which is quite an exciting idea.
Keanu Reeves Doing Rainbow Six Is Better Than John Wick 5
Although there is currently no sign that Keanu Reeves will star in Rainbow Six, it is the better option than John Wick 5 at this point. John Wick 4 seemingly killing Reeves' character creates a handful of problems for how a sequel could be made effectively. Instead of figuring out how to explain how John Wick is alive or making audiences fear for his safety after what could have been a satisfying and emotional death, Rainbow Six provides a fresh start for Reeves in a new action franchise after John Wick. If everything goes well, it could even set up Reeves' own spinoff movie in the Tom Clancy universe.