With John Wick: Chapter 4 now in theaters and it’s future uncertain, Lionsgate is expanding the franchise into new and exciting directions with Ana de Armas’ film spinoff Ballerina and a prequel TV show focused on The Continental. As producer Erica Lee revealed during an interview with Collider’s Steven Weintraub, the Wick-Verse will keep growing, and fans will soon be able to become an assassin of the High Table when a new John Wick video game hits the market.
Turning the John Wick franchise into a game makes a lot of sense, as the movies starring Keanu Reeves already incorporate many elements from video game language. John’s adventures are often split into levels filled with goons and a final boss that must be defeated for him to progress. In addition, every person who’s not directly involved in the action remains in the background, not reacting to the carnage as if they were NPCs stuck in animation loops. Finally, John Wick usually finds new loot in-between missions to make him even deadlier.
Still, while it would be reasonable to expect a big AAA open-world John Wick video game to give fans the complete assassin experience, Lionsgate has been extremely shy in exploring the gaming market. Fortunately, Lee told us, “we’re doing a video game.” And it shouldn’t take long for us to get some news about it because when we asked Lee about a possible release date, she said, “I think it's soon.” And for fans who think “soon” is not precise enough, Lee added, “I think it's soon. I mean, we're deeply working on it, so it's not years away.”
Depending on the scope of this mysterious game, it could take years to polish the experience. And since Lee doesn’t reveal how long they’ve been developing it, it’s hard to guess when we can expect to put on our virtual suits and deliver some fancy gun-fu revenge upon our enemies. Fortunately, Lionsgate will have plenty of opportunities to reveal more about the project in upcoming gaming events like the E3.
John Wick Has Already Appeared in Video Games Before
There are already two John Wick games available for players who want to get their hands dirty, but neither has been well-received by fans and critics. In 2017, we got John Wick Chronicles, a VR first-person shooter where players explore The Continental while tracking down deadly targets. Then, in 2020, John Wick Hex gave fans a slow-paced tactical approach to the series, which only shines when it comes to its stylish graphics and clever use of the top-down perspective. John Wick: Chapter 4 also include a top-down scene that looks like taken from a video game and which might be the best set piece of the franchise. Still, when it comes to gaming, John Wick still has to deliver a good product. Hopefully, it will happen soon.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is currently available in theaters. So far, no release date has been announced for Ballerina, The Continental, or the upcoming John Wick video game. Keep an eye out for more exclusive reveals from our interview with Lee.