Well, you know it’s not a remake.
A remake is a game identical to the previous one, changing small things and making improvements, but basically it would be the same game, modernized with a new engine.
All remakes to date are like this. What isn’t called a remake is because it followed a different path, being called a reboot; a spiritual successor; a remaster; and so on.
Age of Empires IV has nothing to do with a remake of Age of Empires II. The only thing that overlaps is the medieval era (but even that’s different, they depict different centuries). The gameplay was also quite different, with several individual changes for each civilization. The nomenclature used in civilization names is also different, and to make matters worse, even the functions of several units are different (different bonus damage). Look at how light cavalry works in AoE2 and how it works in AoE4, it’s completely different, even the bonus damage.
Basically, Age of Empires 2 is a game more focused on a symmetrical style, while Age of Empires 4 is more focused on an asymmetrical style. (From that alone, you can see that it’s not a remake at all!)
If it were a remake, it would be a 3D Age of Empires II, with a few minor changes for improvement. But it’s far from that.
Stop insisting on something that isn’t real.
If you search, you’ll find an interview from 2021, where the developers themselves see Age of Empires IV as a “spiritual successor” to Age of Empires 2 and not a remake.
This puts an end to the debate about whether it’s a remake or not. Look for the interview.
Regarding Age of Empires V being in the future, this was already answered a long time ago in surveys… most wouldn’t want an Age of Empires in the future.
Regarding more recent time periods, I don’t remember the results, but they were lower than the medieval and ancient periods.
Most players see the Age of Empires series as something more rustic and not technological or very modern.
However, with the arrival of new players, who knows, the First and Second World Wars may one day become a reality… but if the game isn’t well made, it could be a huge failure.
Personally, I’m a huge fan of World War II… but an Age of Empires game that depicts that war would need to surpass many other games in terms of reality, ballistics, and effects to truly succeed. One of its biggest advantages could be the sheer number of possible units, whether on land, air, or sea. But I think that’s very unlikely to happen.