With each ensuing sequel, the John Wick franchise has continued to find ways to impress fans with its creative, and remarkably choreographed, action sequences. With not one, but two more John Wick movies on the way, one has to wonder what the filmmakers will do to make the new films stand out. Keanu Reeves has apparently had some ideas of his own that have made it into the next movie, and director Chad Stahelski says that anything is game as long as it makes John Wick suffer.
Speaking with THR during the recent CinemaCon in Las Vegas, it seems that some of what John Wick gets up to in the fourth instalment of the franchise takes place simply because Keanu Reeves thought the ideas would be fun. Reeves says…
I’ve called out a couple of things, like, let’s get on a horse in the desert. Let’s drive a little bit.
And according to reports on the John Wick: Chapter 4 footage that was screened at CinemaCon, this is exactly some of what we will be getting. There is a scene taking place on horseback in the desert, which Reeves has spoken about before, and there are driving sequences. While it’s probably not all that surprising to know there are some automobile based action scenes, every movie to date has had those, the fact that John Wick will end up back on a horse and back in the desert will bring together two different things we saw in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, into one, likely amazing, action sequence.
As far as how the people making the John Wick movies decide what makes it into the movie and what doesn’t, franchise director Chad Stahelski says it all comes down to making John Wick suffer. First they figure out what would make the character suffer, then they figure out how to get there on screen. Stahelski explains…
We keep finding new and interesting ways to have John Wick suffer. That’s where the action comes from. Figure out how to make him suffer, and then design backward.
John Wick has certainly suffered. The first movie opened with Keanu Reeves’ character being severely beaten, having his car stolen, and watching his puppy die. And while John Wick has certainly dished it out as much as he’s taken it, he has continued to suffer as the franchise has continued. The last time we saw him he fell off the roof of a hotel, and while he somehow survived, he’s in pretty terrible shape.
Unfortunately, while all this is making the next John Wick movie sound incredible, and the first John Wick: Chapter 4 image looks amazing too, it’s going to be a while before we get to see any of it. John Wick 4 has been pushed back to 2023 so the film is nearly a year away.
