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John Wick: Chapter 4
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Wikipedia article
'John Wick: Chapter 4' (or simply 'JW4') is an upcoming American neo-noir action thriller film which is serving as the direct sequel to 2019's 'John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum', as well as the fourth installment in the 'John Wick' film series. Directed by Chad Stahelski, with a script co-written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch, and based on characters created by Derek Kolstad, it is produced by Stahelski, Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee. Starring Keanu Reeves returning as the title character, the film is produced by Thunder Road Pictures and 87North Productions.
Distributed by Lionsgate, the film is set to be theatrically released in the United States on March 24, 2023. Originally set for release on May 21, 2021, the film was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and partially due to Reeves' commitments with 'The Matrix Resurrections'.
Cast
* Keanu Reeves as John Wick, a professional hitman and assassin who has gained legendary reputation for his set of skills and is now hunted by the High Table.
* Donnie Yen as Caine
* Bill Skarsgrd as Marquis
* Laurence Fishburne as The Bowery King, a former underground crime boss who was left for dead by the High Table.
* Lance Reddick as Charon, the concierge at the Continental Hotel in New York.
* Clancy Brown
* Scott Adkins as Killa
* Hiroyuki Sanada as Shimazu
* Ian McShane as Winston, the manager of the Continental Hotel and friend of John Wick.
* Shamier Anderson as Tracker
* Rina Sawayama as Akira
Production
Development
On May 20, 2019, Lionsgate announced 'John Wick: Chapter 4' via their opt-in "John Wick" text update service, writing, "You have served. You will be of service. 'John Wick: Chapter 4' is coming May 21, 2021".Before the third film's release, director Chad Stahelski confirmed on a Reddit "AMA" thread that there had been discussion for another film, and that he would be involved with the project should the threequel be successful. Despite this announcement back then, it was not confirmed if star Keanu Reeves would return for a new installment. However, he told 'GQ' that he would carry on the role as long as the audience wanted it, saying, "As far as my legs can take me, as far as the audience wants to go."
Stahelski later teased the fourth film on an interview with IndieWire by saying Wick would not end the fourth film in "a happy ending", saying, "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." Additionally, Stahelski teased Winston's fate in the fourth film, saying, "He meant to shoot him. 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'." The studio opted to move on from series creator Derek Kolstad and instead hired Shay Hatten to write the script in May 2020. In March 2021, screenwriting duties were passed onto 'Predators' screenwriter Michael Finch.
On May 1, 2020, IndieWire revealed that the fourth film had been delayed to a May 2022 release date following the COVID-19 pandemic and Reeves' commitments to 'The Matrix Resurrections', which was slated to be released on the same original date window with 'Wick 4'. "'The Matrix 4' was only four weeks in when this all happened [production of 'The Matrix 4' halted]," Stahelski said, "So, Keanu's gotta go finish his commitment up on 'The Matrix', which is a big deal and which I think will probably take him until the end of the year. Then we have to go into our prep mode and then we'll start. So release dates ... who knows right now."
When the fourth film was announced, Reeves was reportedly revealed to have begun his training course for 'John Wick 4' and 'The Matrix 4'.
Pre-production
In early August 2020, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer stated during an earnings call, "We're also busy preparing scripts for the next two installments of our 'John Wick' action franchise, with 'John Wick 4' slated to hit theaters Memorial Day weekend 2022. We hope to shoot both 'John Wick 4' and '5' back to back when Keanu becomes available early next year."In May 2021, it was announced that Rina Sawayama would make her feature film debut in 'John Wick Chapter 4'. She was selected due to the role requiring someone who can do choreography, and Stahelski had seen her music videos for "XS" and "Bad Friend" that feature dance and fighting, respectively. The following month, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgrd, Shamier Anderson, and Scott Adkins were cast in the film. Sanada was initially courted to portray Zero in 'Chapter 3', but dropped out in favor of appearing in 'Avengers: Endgame'. In July 2021, Lance Reddick was confirmed to be reprising his role as Charon, and Ian McShane was confirmed to be reprising his role as Winston. Clancy Brown joined the cast that August.
Filming
Production began on June 28, 2021, in Berlin and Paris, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with additional filming to take place in Japan and New York City. On October 27, 2021, principal photography had officially wrapped.Release
Theatrical
'John Wick: Chapter 4' is scheduled to be released on March 24, 2023. Lionsgate officially announced the film during 'Parabellum's opening week, with a scheduled release date of May 21, 2021. The film's release date was delayed to May 27, 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then further to March 24, 2023, in part to avoid opening against 'Top Gun: Maverick'.Future
In August 2020, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer confirmed that a fifth film was being developed alongside 'John Wick: Chapter 4'. While it was initially intended to be shot back-to-back with the fourth installment, in March 2021 Lionsgate opted to delay production and move forward with 'Chapter 4' first. Keanu Reeves has stated that he will continue making sequels, as long as the films are successful.
References
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