John Wick is among the deadliest assassins in recent cinematic history. Be it a crazy motorcycle chase sequence, galloping away on a horse, or killing someone with a pencil – his body count has only increased with each movie. The unparalleled action sequences, intense hand-to-hand combats, and Keanu Reeves’ mad martial arts skills have garnered the franchise much praise from fans. whose expectations for John Wick: Chapter 4 are sky-high. In a new interview with Empire Magazine, director Chad Stahelski reveals that things are going to get “more epic” in the upcoming feature.
It all started in 2014 when John Wick’s vintage car was stolen and his wife’s last gift, a puppy, was killed by some goons, in the original movie. As the franchise unfolded, the John Wick universe expanded with its myths and legends, and for Chapter 4, the director revealed that the movie is a cross between a couple of cult classics. “If you took The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, crossed it with Zatoichi, and threw in a Greek myth, you’d probably get something close to this. And who else fu***** says those kinds of sentences? Now you know why I like doing John Wicks.”
After the breakthrough success of John Wick: Parabellum, Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment did not waste time in commissioning Chapters 4 and 5, while both the movies were supposed to film back to back but the pandemic derailed those plans. Elaborating on the plans for Chapter 4 Stahelski admits it gets a “little scary” after the third movie given there’s a “formula that works.” Further adding,
But you have to throw caution to the wind and say, ‘F**k it, we’re not doing that again.’ So now, on number four, we have multiple storylines. The movie feels different. It feels more epic.”
Adding multiple storylines makes sense given in the expanding John Wick universe, Reeves is also making an appearance in the Ana de Armas-led spin-off Ballerina. Chapter 4 will also see him trotting the globe including locations like France, Jordan, and Tokyo. Stahelski reveals that his inspirations come from his own travels often on an impulse, “I’m in Paris scouting and see the Arc de Triomphe, and I’m like, ‘Okay, I got an idea.’ So I put it in the movie. I’ve got some cowboy friends in the stunt community, so I think, ‘That would be a cool horse gag.’ Two of the big sequences were last-minute inspirations that I’ve always wanted to try but just didn’t know how to do.”
John Wick: Chapter 4 will premiere on March 24, 2023. You can check out our conversation with Stahelski below: