When Keanu Reeves first gunned his way back into the action genre back in 2014 with John Wick, nobody knew it would become a series, but we did know we wanted more immediately. Fast-forward seven years and Reeves’ ultra-assassin is leading a full-on franchise three films deep, one that’s effectively built out mythology surrounding an underground league of killers with their own rules, customs, and guidelines. Just a few days after the third installment, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, hit theaters, Lionsgate announced a fourth film was already on the horizon, with Reeves back in the title role, ace stuntman-turned-filmmaker Chad Stahelski returning to direct, and Mike Finch (Predators) taking over script duties. Although the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the release date back a year, we’re now quickly coming up on the debut of John Wick: Chapter 4, and the hype, as they say, is real.
The sequel comes hot off the tail of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, a film that saw Wick fighting against an entire city’s worth of opposition as he desperately tries to escape New York. Due to his current status as “excommunicado,” Wick left Chapter 3 bloodied, injured, and ready to take on the High Table crime conglomerate with a newfound partner in The Bowery King.
Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about John Wick: Chapter 4, from its release date, to where it’s currently filming, to all those new cast members, and more.
The Trailer
The full-length trailer for John Wick: Chapter 4 was released on November 10, 2022. Set to a slowed-down version of Terry Jacks‘ “Seasons in the Sun,” the trailer gives us our best look yet at the film’s stylistic violence, impressive ensemble, and where John Wick’s quest for vengeance will take him next.
When Is the ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Release Date?
John Wick: Chapter 4 was originally set to hit theaters on May 21, 2021, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic—as well as Reeves’ scheduling conflicts with The Matrix: Resurrections—the premiere date was pushed back a year to March 24, 2022. Right now, that’s where we are.
What Is the ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Plot?
According to the official trailer provided by Lionsgate, the plot synopsis is as follows:
“John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating the High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes.”
Based on this description, we can expect a similar plot progression compared to the prior three John Wick films, with globetrotting action and fantastic stunt work. From the trailer, we get a brief glimpse of a handful of action sequences: John Wick on horseback in a searing orange desert, shooting down fleeing combatants; John Wick peeling out in front of the Arc de Triomphe, firing a handgun out from a doorless car; even a pair of nunchucks can be briefly seen, as John Wick rearranges someone’s face with them.
The film will pick up after the explosive ending to John Wick 3, which saw John completely separated from the assassin organization known as The High Table. The consortium’s leadership believes John is dead–thanks to Winston shooting him off the roof of a building–but he’s actually found himself injured and in the care of The Bowery King. Fishburne revealed that the upcoming film, like every entry before it, will strive to dig even deeper into the mythology and lore surrounding of this world.
“I read the script. It’s really, really cool. As much as it’s the same world as the other three films, it’s just deeper. It’s much deeper in terms of the code of the assassin and the relationship that he has with one character in particular…is really the heart and soul of it.”
In a recent interview with IndieWire, Stahelski was pretty adamant that no matter where John Wick: Chapter 4 is going, it will not have a happy ending.
“John may survive all this shit, but at the end of it, there’s no happy ending. He’s got nowhere to go. Honestly, I challenge you right now, here’s a question to you: How do you fucking want me to end it? Do you think he’s going to ride off into the fucking sunset? He’s killed 300 fucking people and he’s just going to [walk away], everything’s okay? He’s just going to fall in love with a love interest? If you’re this fucking guy, if this guy really exist[ed], how is this guy’s day going to end? He’s fucked for the rest of his life. It’s just a matter of time.”
The Cast
In addition to Reeves returning as the titular hitman, Stahalesky also recently confirmed Ian McShane would be returning for his fourth John Wick movie. “I couldn’t be happier than to welcome Ian McShane back to John Wick: Chapter 4,” the director said in a statement at the time. “He is not only an amazing actor but is an indispensable collaborator who has helped define the world of John Wick.”
Other familiar faces confirmed for the fourth entry are Lance Reddick and Laurence Fishburne. John Wick: Chapter 4 has also been quickly building an absolutely stacked crew of new cast members, including a trio of proven action badasses in Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Scott Adkins (Ninja: Shadow of a Tear), and Mark Zaror (Machete Kills), alongside horror’s scariest evil clown Bill Skarsgard (It), scene-stealing Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada (Mortal Kombat), Wynonna Earp favorite Shamier Anderson, Japanese-British singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama in her film debut, and the goddamn Kurgan himself, Clancy Brown.
When and Where Is ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Filming?
Back in June 2021, a text sent out to subscribers confirmed John Wick: Chapter 4 had started rolling cameras. “It’s begun. Consider this a professional courtesy. John Wick: Chapter 4 is now in production,” the text read. Shamier Anderson confirmed the production start later that day with an image from set.
Fantacytube exclusively learned that production on John Wick: Chapter 4 would largely take the action out of New York City, with filming primarily taking place in Berlin and Paris before additional photography takes place in Japan and New York. Additionally, we learned that Lionsgate’s original plan to shoot John Wick 4 and John Wick 5 back-to-back was put on hold due to the pandemic, and only John Wick 4 will be in the can by the end of the summer.
Who Are the Confirmed Characters ?
Keanu Reeves will, obviously, be playing the title role of John Wick, an assassin who wears the hell out of a suit and knows roughly 10,000 ways to make you be dead. McShane is reprising the role of Winston, owner of the New York Continental Hotel, who we last saw betraying John Wick with a bullet to the chest. Stahelski noted that he still thinks Winston’s intentions are up for interpretation. “He meant to shoot him,” the director told THR. “Did he mean to kill him? That’s open for interpretation, you can take it one of two ways, and that’s kind of where we pick up some of the unanswered questions in John Wick 4.”
Lance Reddick will reprise the role of Charon, the Continental’s steely concierge, while Fishburne will once again play the underground assassin leader, The Bowery King. The exact details on any new characters have been pretty scarce so far. Talking to Collider, Skarsgard said his role required no fight training but is “something different.” Shamier Anderson, on the other hand, has been posting a lot of behind-the-scenes looks at his intensive gun training, hinting that whoever his character might be, he’ll be in the thick of it alongside Wick. Marko Zaror, a stuntman and martial artist as well as an actor, will reportedly be one of John Wick’s “main adversaries” in the film.
cant wait to watch john wick 4
Thanks for finally talking about > 'John Wick 4': Everything you need
to know about John Wick 4 – < Loved it!