The John Wick series has always been a pretty tough time for the main character Keanu Reeves. Whether it’s the loss of his house, his dog, or his own blood, there’s an overarching theme of loss in all of this. But what influence does Reeves himself have on the series? After all, he’s been playing John for almost ten years now, so he should be well acquainted with all this by now.
Well, it turns out that the next installment of the franchise, “John Wick: Chapter 4” will include at least a couple of Reeves’ ideas regarding his titular favorite antihero. This is a fairly standard development of events when someone gets to know a character closely after spending so much time on his incarnation. So at the moment it is not so much a surprise as a final predetermined conclusion.
During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter on the CinemaCon red carpet in April, Reeves and “John Wick” director Chad Stahelski talked about their way of thinking when shooting the upcoming sequel. As fans already know, each entry seems to magnify the fight scenes to keep it fresh. This time Reeves helped with the process by telling the interviewer, “I named a couple of things, for example:”Let’s get on a horse in the desert.” “Let’s go for a little ride.”
So, there’s a little hint of what to expect. Of course, “let’s take a little ride” is probably the most standard thing you can ask for in modern cinema. But this is John Wick, after all. There are many options for what can happen in the car. As for riding in the desert, this is another expected suggestion, especially considering the desert scenes in the previous movie. The same scenes in the desert could serve as a catalyst for a possible spin-off with Halle Berry’s character. But hopefully, if there is some action in this part, the horse won’t get hurt. Fans of John Wick don’t really have warm feelings about the death of animals.
Stahelski also wanted to say something about “John Wick: Chapter 4.” Returning to the topic of loss in the series, the director and his team also just have a standing order to just make the former killer unhappy. “We continue to find new and interesting ways to make John Wick suffer,” explained Stahelski. “That’s where the action comes from. Figure out how to make him suffer, and then design the opposite.” Similar to the stories told about the Uncharted game series and its sets, it seems that the people behind John Wick primarily focus on John’s suffering before writing about it. He’s probably grateful for that.
“John Wick: Chapter 4” is still two steps away from release after being delayed last year, but it’s clear that everyone involved is still putting everything they can into it. We hope it offers the same high-adrenaline thrills that the rest of the series is known for.
“John Wick: Chapter 4” will be released in theaters on March 24, 2023.
