2021 didn’t end up being the year that we saw John Wick: Chapter 4, but the next installment of the Keanu Reeves-led action franchise is currently filming so it’ll be ready for 2022. So far, aside Reeves obviously returning, all the cast members who’ve been announced for Chapter 4 have been newcomers. However, today brings word that at least one familiar face is retuning alongside Reeves’ Mr. Wick, as Laurence Fishburne confirmed he’s reprising The Bowery King.
Laurence Fishburne recently mentioned he’ll be going to Berlin “within another couple months” to shoot John Wick: Chapter 4. While he wasn’t willing to divulge any Chapter 4 plot details, Fishburne, who previously worked with Keanu Reeves on the first three Matrix movies, did praise the script, which was was penned by Michael Finch and Shay Hatten. The actor stated to Collider:
I read the script. It's really, really cool. As much as it's the same world as the other three films, it's just deeper. It's much deeper in terms of the code of the assassin and the relationship that he has with one character in particular who I think Mr. Watanabe is playing... is really the heart and soul of it.
Laurence Fishburne joined the John Wick franchise in 2017’s Chapter 2, when John requested The Bowery King’s help with laying low from the assassins targeting him in the hopes of collecting the $7 million contract Santino D’Antonio put on his head. Despite John having nearly killed Bowery King years earlier, the leader of New York's Bowery criminal network agreed to help John in his efforts to take down D’Antonio, though all he offered the main protagonist was D'Antonio's location and a gun containing seven bullets.
Then John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum rolled around, and as punishment for helping John, The High Table decreed that The Bowery King resign from his leadership position. He refused, leading to him being slashed seven times by by High Table assassin Zero, but that didn’t take him out of the game permanently. At the end of Parabellum, the injured John was delivered to Bowery King in his new underground base, and he asked John if, like him, he was angry at the High Table, and Keanu Reeves’ character answered in the affirmative.
So now the stage is set for John Wick and The Bowery King to join forces and bring The High Table down. These two are arguably at their lowest points, so it’ll be difficult finding the allies and resources to fulfill their mission of vengeance. Still, it’ll be nice to have at least one other established character participating in John Wick: Chapter 4, though it’s a good bet we’ll also reunite with Ian McShane’s Winston, who appeared in the first three John Wick movies and needs to answer for what he did to John before Parabellum concluded.
As a side note, Laurence Fishburne’s mention of a Mr. Watanabe might logically lead you to think that Inception’s Ken Watanabe has joined the John Wick: Chapter 4 cast. However, Collider has heard from its sources that Watanabe is actually the name of one of the characters rather than an actor. There’s no word yet on who’s playing this character, but along with Fishburne and Keanu Reeves, Chapter 4’s cast includes Rina Sawayama, Donnie Yen, Shamier Anderson and Bill Skarsgård.
John Wick: Chapter 4 arrives on May 27, 2022, but if you’re curious about movies coming out a little sooner, browse through our 2021 release schedule.
