John Wick 4 Release Date In Doubt As Keanu Reeves Has To Finish Filming The Matrix 4 First

People were unbelievably excited when it was announced that John Wick 4 and The Matrix 4 would be released on the same weekend next year.

Everyone was getting hyped for the May 21 weekend, however that hype might have been premature.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic shutting down production on nearly every TV show and movie, studios have had to reconsider when they'll be able to get projects finished and ready for public consumption.

The release for the fourth instalment of the John Wick empire looks in doubt as a result.

Summit Entertainment

Director Chad Stahelski told Collider: "Between how much we want to expand the John Wick - let's just call it a 'franchise', I guess - and the pandemic, I couldn't tell you a release date for the next one.

"I mean, Matrix was only four weeks in when this all happened. So, Keanu's gotta go finish his commitment up on The Matrix, which is a big deal and which I think will probably take him until the end of the year.

"Then we have to go into our prep mode and the we'll start. So release dates, I'm sure with every production from Dave's stuff to our stuff, who knows right now."

Warner Bros.

It's certainly a never say never answer, however fans shouldn't get their hopes up of seeing back-to-back Keanu Reeves in badass fashion on May 21, 2021.

It will all depend on how the coronavirus pandemic plays out over the next few months and whether production schedules will allow the actor to film both movies in time. It's a stretch, but whackier things have happened in Hollywood.

Not much is known about the next John Wick film, however we've been given some good tidbits about the new The Matrix movie.

Carrie-Anne Moss, who played Neo's love interest and all-round badass Trinity, will join Keanu in the project.

Warner Bros.

Others to add their names to the growing cast list include Jonathan Groff, one of the stars of Frozen 2 and Mindhunter (however his role hasn't been laid out yet) Neil Patrick Harris from How I Met Your Mother, and even Jada Pinket Smith will be jumping on board as Niobe again.

We also know that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who is one of the stars of Watchmen and Aquaman, is on board as well.

This will be the first movie in the Matrix universe for 16 years. The previous three films - The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions - took in more than $1.6 billion globally at the box office.

Abdul-Mateen recently told EW: "It's a very exciting, relevant script that I'm honoured to be a part of."

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie