The John Wick movies have become one of the most exciting film franchises in recent memory. Since the first movie debuted in 2014 with Keanu Reeves taking on the title role, fans have been captivated by the neo-noir-inspired action thrillers. The movie only got more popular with its first sequel John Wick: Chapter 2 in 2017, and then the 2019 third film John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum. The final trailer for John Wick: Chapter 4 dropped on February 16. A month later, John Wick star Lance Reddick tragically passed away at the age of 60 just a week before the film’s release.
John Wick: Chapter 3 earned an estimated $327 million at the box office worldwide — more than the first two films combined! The first only earned about $86 million, and the second earned over $171 million. Nonetheless, fans are excited to see what Keanu and director Chad Stahelski have in store next for the action franchise! Luckily, HollywoodLife has all the details you need.
Where John Wick: Chapter 3 Left Off
John Wick is the story of former the former assassin of the same name. In the first film, John had tried to put a life of crime behind him, especially following the death of his wife Helen (played by Bridget Moynahan). After a run-in with Russian gangsters, he was attacked and dragged back into the lifestyle after his car was stolen and his dog was killed. A Russian gang leader Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist) had put a price on John’s head, asking for Marcus’s (Willem Dafoe) help. John sought asylum at the criminal safe space at the Continental Hotel in New York, but Viggo still attempted to break the code of not hurting people there and having John killed. Instead of taking Viggo’s offer, Marcus helps John, and he gets killed by the crime boss instead. When John and Viggo confront each other at the end of the movie, the Russian gangster stabs John, but the ex-hitman manages to get Viggo back, although he was shown to make peace with the crime boss at the start of John Wick: Chapter 2.
The movie’s second film saw Keanu reprising his role as John Wick, and it introduced many characters that have become staples to the movie’s franchise. The second film introduced Lance Reddick as Charon, one of the Continental Hotel’s concierges, Laurence Fishburne as the crime lord: the Bowery King. The second movie focuses on John being confronted by Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) who taps John to kill his sister Gianna (Claudia Gerini) so he can take his spot at the High Table — a criminal council. After John reluctantly completes the mission, Santino double-crosses him and puts a bounty on his head. John kills the newly-minted High Table member at the Continental Hotel and is blacklisted from the criminal world, and the film ends with an even higher bounty on his head.
The third film features John on the run and introduces him to another side of the criminal world. He’s helped by his friend Sofia (Halle Berry), who introduces him to Berrada (Jerome Flynn), after he asks to be brought to “The Elder” (Saïd Taghmaoui), who’s hirer than the High Table. The Elder demanded John kill Winston (Ian McShane) and his loyalty to the High Table. While John agreed, he refused to kill Winston when the time came to kill him. Winston offers his help to John but quickly double-crosses him when “The Adjudicator” offers him a chance to return. Winston shoots John multiple times, but the hitman is rescued by the Bowery King who is planning a war with the High Table at the end of the film.
What’s In Store For John Wick: Chapter 4
Given that the third film ended with John and the Bowery King preparing for war with the High Table, it’s safe to say that the fourth film will be an all-out battle between John Wick and the criminal organization. The official synopsis reads: “John Wick takes on his most lethal adversaries yet in the upcoming fourth installment of the series. With the price on his head ever increasing, Wick takes his fight against the High Table global as he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld, from New York to Paris to Osaka to Berlin.”
Laurence Fishburne noted that the fourth film went “deeper in terms of the code of the assassin and the relationship that he has with one character in particular,” according to Collider. Like previous installments, it’s likely that the fourth film will end on a cliffhanger. Chad mentioned that the possible places to take the franchise and story are endless in a 2019 interview with IndieWire. “John may survive all this s**t, but at the end of it, there’s no happy ending. He’s got nowhere to go,” the director said. “How do you f**king want me to end it? Do you think he’s going to ride off into the f**king sunset? He’s killed 300 f**king 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 f**king guy, if this guy really exist[ed], how is this guy’s day going to end? He’s f**ked for the rest of his life. It’s just a matter of time.”
Chad recently told Total Film about John Wick 4: “John comes to terms with how what he does affects people that he cares about. There’s always got to be consequences for your actions. And in this, we’re starting to see that John understands what the consequences are. Not that it curbs him in any way.”
John Wick Chapter 4 Cast & Crew
There will be plenty of familiar faces in John Wick: Chapter 4. Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick, and Ian McShane will all reprise their roles for the fourth film. While there will certainly be characters fans are familiar with, the movie’s IMDb page also listed new characters who will be making their John Wick debuts: Bill Skarsgård as Marquis, Donnie Yen as Caine, Shamier Anderson as Tracker, Scott Adkins as Killa, Hiroyuki Sanada as Shimazu.
Lance passed away on March 17 in the midst of the John Wick: Chapter 4 press tour. The cast of John Wick mourned his death and honored the late actor by wearing royal blue ribbons at the red carpet premiere of the film.
In his final interview before his death, Lance stressed the importance of family on The Kelly Clarkson Show. “Family is such a huge theme in this particular film, more than any others,” he said. “Literal family, but also you see with the three of us, it’s not just the family that you’re born into, but the family that you created, and how much we really are family.”
While there’s not much known about the new characters, Bill explained that he thought the first three installments were “very entertaining” in an interview with Collider, and he said he hadn’t felt like he hadn’t done anything like it. Shamier also took to his Instagram to show some of the training he’d received for the movie, including a lot of firearms. John Wick 4 will also feature Clancy Brown as The Harbinger. Director Chad Stahelski noted that he was excited in a statement to Deadline. “I have been a fan of Clancy Brown’s since I can remember. To have him be a part of this project is an honor. He will make a perfect addition to the World of John Wick,” he explained.
As previously mentioned, Chad Stahelski is returning to direct, as he had with the previous three movies! The screenplay was written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch. Shay is a relatively fresh face to the series and Hollywood in general. He was one of the writers on John Wick 3, but he’s written a few other screenplays including 2021’s Army of The Dead. Michael is a little more established. He made his debut in 2010 with Predators, and he’s written a handful of other films like 2018’s Blood Brother and 2016’s Countdown.