There’s an unwritten rule in movies that no character is dead until you full-on see a corpse… and that makes readings of John Wick: Chapter 4‘s ending complicated. The film’s conclusion sees Keanu Reeves‘ titular protagonist seated and slumping while riddled with bullets and his friends visiting a gravestone with his name, but we never actually see the Baba Yaga’s lifeless body. Fans have had debates on the subject, with complexity added by Lionsgate’s announcement earlier this year of three new franchise films – but if you ask Ian McShane a.k.a. Winston Scott, John is definitely alive, and there are breadcrumbs leading to questions we should all be asking.
CinemaBlend’s Hannah Saulic sat down with the John Wick franchise actor during the recent press day for the new spinoff Ballerina, and one of the questions she asked concerned Winston’s relationship with John after Chapter 4. If it turns out the famed assassin is alive, will the legendary manager of The Continental be upset that his friend faked his death? Per McShane, the answer is no, and he explained why:
No, I think [Winston] knows [he’s alive]. I mean, don’t forget, the last shot you saw was me putting my hand on the coffin and saying, you know, ‘Das vedanya, my son,’ which in Russian is… And why does Winston speak in Russian? And why do you see a hint of a tattoo up his hand? Who knows what he is?
Although audiences have spent four movies witnessing the complicated relationship between John Wick and Winston Scott (including the latter shooting the former off of a roof in Chapter 3), it is worth noting that we don’t really know anything about their shared origin. They obviously run in the same circles and have known each other professionally for years, but what is it that first brought them together and made them close? Ian McShane suggests that Winston’s use of Russian at John Wick’s grave and the tattoo on his hand is meant to be indicative of a bigger story.
Ian McShane continued saying that the open-ended aspects of the John Wick franchise is part of why he appreciates everything that has been built from the world (with the exception of the streaming series The Continental, which he refuses to watch due to creative differences). He added,
I mean that’s what’s great about the show: there’s unanswered questions, which they don’t answer in every episode. They give you a few breadcrumbs. You know, you think you know an answer, but you don’t. That’s what the best stories do. They reveal.
Along with an animated prequel and a spinoff centered on Donnie Yen‘s Caine from John Wick: Chapter 4, a John Wick: Chapter 5 was announced by Lionsgate at CinemaCon 2025 – though director Chad Stahelski recently splashed some cold water on the idea that it was a done deal. The most important ingredient is creative interest and investment from both Stahelski and Keanu Reeves, and Ian McShane puts it in the hands of Reeves to keep the core series going.
But even if John Wick: Chapter 5 specifically doesn’t become a thing, there will still be in-canon adventures like Ballerina, which stars Ana de Armas in the lead as new protagonist Eve Macarro but also features Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves, Anjelica Huston and the late great Lance Reddick. Said McShane,
If there is a John Wick 5, which will be entirely up to Keanu. If Keanu wants to do it, they’ll do it. There’ll be a five. Otherwise, there may be another continuing thing without him, who knows? They may go off in a different direction because movies have a way of doing that.
No other John Wick features presently have release dates, but we’ll keep you updated here on CinemaBlend about big news and developments. For now, you can check out Ballerina in theaters now – the film having done battle with the box office powerhouse that is Lilo & Stitch in its debut weekend.
