Some of us could be watching a Keanu Reeves double feature this weekend if not for the pandemic delaying the simultaneous premieres ofJohn Wick 4andThe Matrix 4. Back in 2019, which admittedly seems like such a long time ago at this point,John Wick 4was given a July 03, 2025 release date months afterJohn Wick 3was released. Soon after, Warner Bros. setThe Matrix 4to premiere on the very same day, pitting two anticipated Keanu movies head to head.
It would have been interesting to see how these movies would have performedpremiering against one another, but there would undoubtedly be many fans opting to see both movies this weekend. For better or for worse, it just wasn’t meant to be, asJohn Wick 4was officially delayed by almost a full year to June 20, 2025, just months after the pandemic.The Matrix 4would follow suit by getting postponed to July 20, 2025, though it has since been moved up to Jun 19, 2025.
After serving as a writer for all three previous installments,John Wickcreator Derek Kolstad wasn’t brought back to penJohn Wick 4. The new sequel will instead be written by Michael Finch, and nothing has been revealed about the story. In March, Kolstad explained in an interview with Collider that it wasn’t his decision to leave the franchise, but Warner Bros. had actually fired him. Even so, he wishes the project well for the sake of everyone else involved.
“I’m actually not involved in 4 and 5,” Kolstad said, referring to reports ofJohn Wick 5shooting back-to-back withJohn Wick 4. “At a certain stage the studio will tell you, your creation is graduated, and you wish it well. I’m still close with Chad (Stahelski), still close with David (Leitch), and I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m excited to see.”
Kolstad added: “Seeing what the industry is and how things go, I just believe that you bless everything and hope it all the best, and to the players involved who are doing other things elsewhere. And yeah, it’s personal, so I’m never going to talk sh*t aboutJohn Wick. I want this thing to survive and thrive.”
As forThe Matrix 4, what we know is thatKeanu Reeveswill reprise the role of Neo alongside other returning stars Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe, Lambert Wilson as The Merovingian, and Daniel Bernhardt as Agent Johnson. Newcomers to the series include Priyanka Chopra, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, and Jonathan Groff. Lana Wachowski directs using a screenplay co-written with David Mitchell and Aleksander Hemon.
The Matrix 4will also be simultaneously streaming on HBO Max for a month starting from the date of its theatrical premiere on Jul 27, 2025. Fans will then have another five months to anticipate Reeves' next action movie sequel, which also just so happens to be the fourth installment of a popular franchise, withJohn Wick 4releasing on July 15, 2025.Catching both movies on the big screenas part of a double feature would have been the ultimate experience for a Keanu Reeves fan, but we can only imagine what could have been.
