Filming for John Wick: Chapter 4 is underway and Deadline has confirmed that Ian McShane is set to return to the franchise. Previous reports had suggested that fans could expect to see Winston in the upcoming film, but now director Chad Stahelski has given credence to the rumors, saying, "I couldn't be happier than to welcome Ian McShane back to John Wick: Chapter 4. He is not only an amazing actor but is an indispensable collaborator who has helped define the world of John Wick."
Winston has appeared in the past three chapters of John Wick, but McShane is perhaps most well known for his Golden Globe-winning performance as Al Swearengen in HBO’s Deadwood. McShane’s return rounds out an already star-studded cast that includes Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rina Sawayama, Shamier Anderson, and Lance Reddick.
Very little is known about the plot of John Wick: Chapter 4, but Stahelski teased what to expect in an interview with IndieWire, “John may survive all this shit, but at the end of it, there’s no happy ending. He’s got nowhere to go.” Perhaps Wick will have to make a hasty retreat to the New York Continental Hotel and take advantage of the neutral ground Winston has established there. Though there may be a few hard feelings between them after Winston shot him in John Wick: Chapter 3.
The script is co-written by Michael Finch, a newcomer to the franchise, and Shay Hatten who penned John Wick: Chapter 3 and the upcoming fifth installment. John Wick: Chapter 4 is currently shooting in Berlin and Paris, with additional filming locations in France, Germany, and Japan planned for the rest of the summer. Lionsgate has set a May 27, 2022 release date for the film.