Keanu Reeves is ready to put his aging body — which has taken a beating throughout his martial-arts-heavy career — on the line for a fifth installment of the beloved John Wick franchise, per an insider, who exclusively tells In Touch the abuse won’t be for nothing as he’ll be walking off with a whopping $35 million when all is said and done.
“What’s happening with John Wick right now is the slow walk-up that goes along with any Keanu Reeves movie these days,” the insider explains. “The script is being written and Keanu is being perfectly honest about what he’s willing and not willing to do stunt-wise. There’s no faking this. He’s being totally honest about what he can and can’t do, and he had put his body through hell for these movies.”
Over the past decade, the Speed star, 60, has raked in an estimated $22 million for his demanding work in the franchise, with the lion’s share coming from the most recent installment, John Wick 4, which netted him about $15 million. With the fifth movie in the works, the insider notes the payday is following a similar exponential increase and, as Keanu gets older, he feels he’s earned every penny for what he’s put himself through.
“It’s a work in progress, and it’s what you get when you agree to pay Keanu $35 million for a giant action sequel,” the source continues. “He’s going to do everything and anything he possibly can to make this work, but he’s in his sixties now and everybody has their limits.”
Another notable A-list stunt enthusiast, Tom Cruise, has taken a slightly different tact according to a second source who previously talked to In Touch — refusing to believe his age and continuing to defy it in the face of ever great opportunities to push the limits of his body. At 62, the Mission: Impossible star has beaten himself down over the decades with numerous action-flick injuries. “Family, friends and colleagues are telling him to hang it up, that there’s nothing to prove,” that source said, “but Tom says part of the fun of filmmaking for him is doing his own stunts and he’s not giving that up.”
The first source says Keanu is taking a much more conservative approach, but still very much agrees with Tom that it’s not quite time to hang it all up yet.
“What’s amazing is how much foresight Keanu has had when it comes to this franchise. He agreed to make the first movie back in 2014 for around $2 million dollars, as long as he got a huge raise in the event of sequels. It was basically an indie movie, and Keanu loves betting on himself. Cut to ten years later and he has made a mountain of money from this character.
“The Wick franchise was a genius financial move that paid off in spades,” the source adds. “Keanu isn’t giving up on that world anytime soon, but he needs the writing to reflect his age and his limitations so he has a chance of surpassing them, which he always does!”
