If things had gone according to the original plan, John Wick: Chapter 4 would be hitting theaters in approximately two months. However, due to a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Hollywood and director Chad Stahelski working with Keanu Reeves on The Matrix 4, Lionsgate decided to push the fourth John Wick movie back a year. So we still have a ways to go before the eponymous assassin returns to the big screen, but word’s come in on when the action-thriller franchise’s next installment will start filming.
According to sources who spoke with Collider, John Wick: Chapter 4 will kick off principal photography this June, with cameras rolling all over the globe. Most of the shoot will take place in Berlin, Germany and Paris, France, as those cities will be integral locations in the Chapter 4 story. The same goes for New York City and Japan, with additional photography being planned for those locations too.
It’s also worth remembering that John Wick: Chapter 5 is also on the way, and in August 2020, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said that it and John Wick: Chapter 4 would shoot back-to-back. However, this latest report claims that because COVID-19 threw a wrench in the proverbial works, now only Chapter 4 will film this summer. Assuming this is true, that doesn’t mean that Chapter 5 has been shelved, it just means that it’ll begin production at a later date rather than immediately after work on Chapter 4 is finished.
When we last left off with Keanu Reeves’ John Wick at the end of Chapter 3 - Parabellum, it initially looked like he left for dead after being seemingly betrayed by Ian McShane’s Winston (though it was pretty clear that there more going on than meets the eye). Luckily for John, he was rescued and taken to Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King, who, just like John, has a bone to pick with the High Table. No specific plot details for John Wick: Chapter 4 have been revealed yet, but assuming John and The Bowery King are indeed teaming up, then evidently their vengeance-seeking journey will take them to various international locales.
Behind the scenes, as mentioned earlier, Chad Stahelski is sitting in the director’s chair again for John Wick: Chapter 4, but this will be the first movie in the franchise where Derek Kolstad didn’t work on the script. Instead, Mike Finch has reportedly been the main writer, though it’s unclear if he's also penning John Wick: Chapter 5 or if someone else is handling that. The John Wick franchise is also expanding with the Ballerina spinoff and the Starz prequel series The Continental.
Assuming there are no more delays, John Wick: Chapter 4 will arrive in theaters on May 27, 2022. If you’re curious about the movies still slated to arrive this year, look through our upcoming 2021 movies schedule.
