Keanu Reeves has spent the last decade and change becoming synonymous with John Wick. Across four films and an Ana de Armas-led spin-off, the franchise rose from low-budget indie darling to one of the most beloved blockbuster franchises on the planet, with the action star at the heart of the antihero’s growth into a billion-dollar icon. John Wick: Chapter 4 appeared to finally bring his story to a close with a climactic final confrontation with his old friend, Caine (Donnie Yen), and the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), but CinemaCon in 2025 confirmed that there was still life in the series and a fifth film was on the way after Reeves and Chad Stahelski found an idea they liked for the sequel. That said, it’ll be a minute before everything comes together, and in the meantime, the Baba Yaga is eyeing other roles.
Now, Reeves has officially set his next big action thriller that could take him into the foreseeable future. The Arena has preemptively acquired the rights to Oliver Lowe’s upcoming novel Kill Current: A Jon Hendricks Thriller for an adaptation starring the Matrix lead as the titular CIA burnout. Described as “a globe-spanning, edge-of-your-seat action thriller about shifting alliances and the race for the world’s most precious and valuable assets,” the novel is designed to be the beginning of a series centered on Hendricks and, if it’s successful, could be the beginning of a new franchise for Reeves on-screen. In addition to leading the cast, he’s also producing alongside Alexandra Grant for Two Dragonflies.
Alongside the announcement was a trippy first teaser showing Hendricks walking through a cybernetic corridor. Publishing in May 2027 through Zando, Kill Current will be a revenge thriller in a similar vein to Wick, introducing readers to Hendricks as he’s pulled back into the world of espionage to get the vengeance he desires. It’ll follow the beaten-down CIA officer as he seeks those responsible for the death of the protégé he trained and lost. His path will be anything but straightforward, though, if the promise of globe-trotting political thrills is any indication. In an official statement, Molly Stern, CEO and founder of Zando, hyped it up as a very contemporary story shaped by issues affecting the globe, from the economy to the technological race, at this moment in time.
“Oliver Lowe’s masterful story, the first in his upcoming Jon Hendricks series, is poised to reinvent the geopolitical thriller for the modern era. Kill Current is rooted in the issues shaping today’s world—semiconductors, global supply chains, technological and information warfare. It delivers the fast-paced, globe-trotting read and complex, intriguing characters that thriller fans of any era crave.”
‘Kill Current’ Will Be a Major Debut for The Arena and Two Dragonflies
Erik Feig launched his independent studio, The Arena, as a producer of event action and franchises, making something like Kill Current and the forthcoming Jon Hendricks series as a whole a perfect fit. “This project further underlines our focus on launching high-concept IP for global audiences across different media,” the CEO wrote in a separate statement. “Keanu Reeves is a singular talent and synonymous with the kind of intelligent action franchises we are aiming to make. We are thrilled to work with him and Alexandra Grant and equally thrilled that Matt Reilly and Melissa Goodall were able to swoop in and get this!” Reeves, for his part, added that this kind of project is exactly what he and Grant envisioned backing when they first conceived of their production banner. “I’m excited and grateful for the opportunity to develop the character Jon Hendricks with these wonderful collaborators, and that this is the project that launches Two Dragonflies, which I share with my partner, Alexandra Grant.”
Kill Current will hit store shelves in May. Check out the first teaser for the film adaptation in the player above.
via Collider