FANS of “John Wick” will have to wait a little longer to see the next installment as Keanu Reeves’ titular hitman continues his quest for vengeance. Lionsgate announced Wednesday that the movie would be pushed back nearly a year from its planned May 27, 2022 release date. “John Wick: Chapter 4” will debut in theaters March 24, 2023, according to a new video teaser. Directed by Chad Stahelski, the fourth chapter in the “John Wick” saga stars Reeves, Donnie Yen, Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick, Bill Skarsg?rd, Rina Sawayama, Shamier Anderson and Ian McShane. Michael Finch and Shay Hatten wrote the screenplay, with Stahelski, Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee producing and Reeves and Louise Rosner as executive producers. The “John Wick” franchise has netted more than US$584.9 million at the worldwide box office, with “Chapter 3 — Parabellum” earning a franchise-high US$327 million worldwide. In September, “Top Gun: Maverick” pushed its long-awaited release to May 27, 2022, with the move to Memorial Day weekend pushing star Tom Cruise’s other franchise film “Mission Impossible 7” to Sept. 30, 2022. With the “John Wick” subsequent move to March 2023, the action flick’s current opening weekend competition is Sony’s yet-to-be-titled George Foreman biopic. News of the “John Wick” delay comes as Reeves celebrates the release of the fourth chapter of “The Matrix” series, another one of the movie star’s most iconic franchises. (SD-Agencies) | 