John Wick has been killing it on the big screen, figuratively and literally. Plenty of moviegoers over the last six years have watched watch the Keanu Reeves-portrayed assassin eliminate any enemies who stand in the way of his missions, with 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum making over $326 million worldwide. Understandably, Lionsgate is keeping the franchise going with John Wick: Chapter 4.
While we’re a ways off from learning what’s in store for John Wick on his next adventure, director Chad Stahelski recently revealed that there was some material he and his team had to scrap for Parabellum that they plan on repurposing for Chapter 4. As Stahelski explained:
There’s a couple things. We had a couple of overlapping thematics, and I stripped it down to the bare essentials. And there were two action sequences that we had really kind of conceived, but we just didn’t have room for them. So, we pulled them from the movie. And I’d like to think that 90 percent of what I pulled, there’s a place in John Wick 4 that I can definitely reinsert them.
One goes into a John Wick movie expecting action, but John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum definitely kicked things up a couple notches on that front, from Keanu Reeves’ character fighting off opponents while riding a horse to his brutal brawl with Mark Dacascos’ Zero. So it’s not surprising to learn that there were a few action sequences that didn’t make the cut given how much was already packed in.
But one movie’s trash is another movie’s treasure, and while Chad Stahelski wasn’t willing to provide any details to THR about what’s involved with these action sequences, he expects that the majority of their content will be incorporated into John Wick: Chapter 4. After the movie is released, hopefully Stahelski will point out the sequences in an interview or two, and we can imagine how they might have fit into Parabellum.
Like Keanu Reeves, Chad Stahelski has been part of the John Wick franchise (or as it could have been known, the Scorn franchise) since the beginning. He co-directed the first movie with David Leitch, and while Leitch has gone on to direct fare like Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2 and Hobbs & Shaw, Stahelski has held the directorial reins solo for the John Wick sequels.
Late last month, Chad Stahelski said that there’s a “scriptment” for John Wick: Chapter 4, and in this latest interview, he confirmed that he’s currently working on the full script with co-writer Shay Hatten. In addition to Chapter 4, the John Wick franchise is also expanding with the Ballerina spinoff and The Continental TV series for Starz.
Originally slated for May 21, 2021, John Wick: Chapter 4 has been pushed back to May 27, 2022. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for updates on how its coming along, and be sure to look through our guide detailing what other movies have recently been delayed.
