John Wick: Chapter 4

I'll admit I would not have predicted we would be both at a fourth John Wick movie, the film would be nearly three hours long, and that critics and audience ...

We will keep our eyes on its box office performance, but it’s already clear that Chapter 4 is going to be a massive success both critically and commercially. No doubt plans for Chapter 5 are already in the works, and we’ll see just how far this thing can go. Early box office returns are trickling in and its possible it ends up as the series best showing there as well. John Wick: Chapter 4 is a full two hours and forty nine minutes, easily the longest in the franchise and as such, with more action than ever. Keanu Reeves has declared that the film is dedicated to Lance Reddick, who played frequent Wick ally Charon. Wick has now put out some of the best numbers we’ve ever seen from him.

The director Chad Stahelski narrates a sequence involving John Wick in combat with Caine, a blind assassin.

“Donnie Yen is an amazing martial arts performer,” he said. In “Anatomy of a Scene,” we ask directors to reveal the secrets that go into making key scenes in their movies. See new episodes in the series on Fridays.

Keanu Reeves returns in "John Wick: Chapter 4." The movie is now playing only in theaters, but is expected to stream on Starz later this year.

You can buy tickets to see "John Wick: Chapter 4" at local or national theater chains like The movie is being praised as the franchise's best installment yet. A prequel TV show, called "The Continental," is being developed as well. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. "The Continental" is set to hit Peacock later this year. While another sequel has yet to be given the official greenlight, a fifth entry in the series is being developed. "John Wick: Chapter 4" also features Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Shamier Anderson, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, and Ian McShane. However, the movie is expected to debut on Other recent Lionsgate movies, like "Alice Darling" and "Plane," became available to order on-demand at home within six weeks of their theatrical releases. [John Wick](https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/streaming/where-to-watch-john-wick-movies) (Keanu Reeves) is back for another round of stylish action and thrilling stunts on the big screen. [Starz](https://affiliate.insider.com/?amazonTrackingID=biauto-58133-20&h=6d4ef39156327f009d0c91e1771a4270c2f07f44fbb2aa6da74c15491215dbf7&postID=641b122e3295302e1e254d36&site=bi&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.starz.com%2Fus%2Fen%2F&platform=browser&sc=false&disabled=false)later this year, and could hit VOD in May. As he seeks out the world's most powerful operatives, Wick attempts to uncover a path toward defeating the secret council of crime lords.

Rina Sawayama's Akira steals the show from Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 4, a welcome addition to the Wickiverse.

Sawayama has proven that she can work with the best and still manage to wow us. She is already the concierge of the Osaka location, and understands that one day she will be tasked with leadership for herself. There’s a storied tradition that comes with her combat style; she mixes beauty and brutality in the style of Winston Scott and Charon have been close friends and allies since the 1970s when they first rose to power in New York, which is set to be the basis for the upcoming spinoff prequel series With the John Wick franchise set to expand into future spinoffs, it’s safe to say that Akira is a character that fans will want to be seeing a lot more of. [Akira is the daughter of Shimazu Koji](https://collider.com/john-wick-chapter-4-akira-character-poster-rina-sawayama/) (Hiroyuki Sanada), the manager of the Osaka Continental that holds a seat on the High Table.

If you're familiar with the John Wick film series you'll know almost every other aspect takes a back seat in favour of action and bloodshed.

That isn’t about to change with John Wick: Chapter 4 – and that is perfectly okay. However, they’re all mostly forgettable when compared to the imposing-yet-affable presence and demeanour that Caine (Donnie Yen) brings as John Wick’s longtime friend. The change in perspective also aids to show off the new spectacle of the Dragon’s Breath shotgun rounds that one group decided to bring along. Said council has called in a new villain, The Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), to clean up the mess Wick made in the previous films and to make an example of him for defying their rules. We see Wick go to a place and dispatch his assailants with relative ease before moving on to the next place. We’re also introduced to Harbinger (Clancy Brown), another High Table character.](https://stuff.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2-4.png) This simple change uses the familiarity the audience has developed which pays off tremendously as we track Wick from room to room. And just as well it did because the narrative in Chapters 2, 3, and 4, is reduced to a relatively simple one- or two-line premise. [What makes JW: Chapter 4 stand out as the best Wick flick is the ingenuity that drips from its set pieces. All four films in the series manage to cobble together some sense of a plot to explain Wick’s immediate actions. It seems the production crew behind the John Wick franchise, particularly director Chad Stahelski, share that belief.](https://stuff.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1-4.png) Here, the action sequences and our introduction to Wick’s signature ‘gun-fu’ fighting style are wrapped in emotional stakes.

In John Wick 4, Keanu Reeves' unstoppable assassin brings his fight to the very top of the food chain, revealing that the franchise has had one true target ...

Just as in the real world, in John Wick’s story, wealth and power have a way of self-perpetuating, and mostly trickling upward to a privileged few. His puppy isn’t coming back, and the wife that puppy symbolized for him isn’t coming back. And yet, as the movies have stressed before and continue to stress here, the idea that his violence might achieve anything is dubious. John Wick has murdered his way across the world and up the social ladder. All of which makes the John Wick movies an accidental commentary on wealth as violence: John Wick’s sin isn’t just getting out of the game, it’s returning to assassination and thinking he can just go back to exerting his privileges under the High Table without reintegrating himself into its strict economy of lives and debts. He’s not out to save the world, and he’s not interested in the morality of his actions. The idea being sold from the first John Wick onward is that in his world, someone can walk into a building, slide a token across a desk, and expect absolute deference and premium luxury. Chapter 4 continues to show Wick bringing his vendetta to the people who command violence and profit from it without ever participating in it. As with so many broad genre constructions, the High Table can stand in for any number of things: the real-world 1 percent, domineering religious orders, or political regimes that gild oppression with the veneer of democracy. There is catharsis in watching him mow down the rich, even if he isn’t ideologically opposed to them. In his world, even the lowliest street thugs can compete for multimillion-dollar assassination bounties, but for the actual players — men like John and the assassin elite who want him dead — money isn’t a concern. The business of murder is an honorable one in these films, buttressed with rules and ensconced in luxury, to distinguish its practitioners from “the animals,” as hotelier-to-the-assassins Winston (Ian McShane) repeatedly says.

After 'John Wick 4,' where will Keanu Reeves' assassin appear next? There are already two spinoffs in the works.

“John Wick 4” also has one final, future plot thread teased in the post-credits scene with Akira (Rina Sawayama) and Caine. Colin Woodell plays a young Winston, Ayomide Adegun is Charon, Katie McGrath is The Adjudicator and Peter Greene is Uncle Charlie, who goes onto covertly dispose of bodies in the “John Wick” movies. [“John Wick 5” was already in the works](https://variety.com/2020/film/news/john-wick-5-new-dirty-dancing-movie-1234728033/), before “John Wick 4” had even begun filming. The group also includes Katia (Natalia Tena), who welcomed Wick back into the adoptive family and branded him with their crest in “John Wick 4.” Taking place between the third and fourth “John Wick” films, “Ballerina” stars de Armas as an assassin named Rooney who hunts down her family’s murderers. Instead of firing his third and final bullet in his duel against Caine, Wick held onto the round and shot the Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgard), who had walked over to deliver the final blow to Wick before checking to see if he was out of bullets.

Chad Stahelski discusses the almost 4-hour director's cut of John Wick: Chapter 4, what changed, and if the deleted scenes might end up on the Blu-ray.

Delivering an almost [three-hour cut](https://collider.com/oppenheimer-runtime-three-hours/) to the public is already a risk, even though [Stahelski himself](https://collider.com/john-wick-4-runtime/) and critics say that the action flick is pretty easy to sit through. Aside from Reeves, the cast also features Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Bill Skarsgard, Rina Sawayama, Clancy Brown, Shamier Anderson, Hiroyuki Sanada, and [the late Lance Reddick](https://collider.com/lance-reddick-dead-at-60/). [extra hour](https://collider.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-extended-editions/)’s worth of footage to show us, he wasn’t too precious about letting go because he’s pretty happy with the version that we get to see in cinemas now. For director [Chad Stahelski](https://collider.com/tag/chad-stahelski/), the first version of the movie was 3 hours and 45 minutes, not counting the end credits. [4-hour version](https://collider.com/elvis-4-hour-cut-baz-luhrmann-comments/) of this new installment, but we can’t ignore the fact that a runtime that long may have driven a good portion of moviegoers away. [John Wick: Chapter 4](https://collider.com/tag/john-wick-chapter-4/) is the longest entry in the gun-fu franchise, clocking in a whopping 2 hours and 49 minutes of action stunts performed by Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, and the rest of the cast.

'John Wick: Chapter 4' premiered on March 24. Here's how to watch the latest film in the 'John Wick' franchise and when it'll be available to stream.

[Lance Reddick](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a43351797/lance-reddick-death/), unexpectedly passed before the premiere of John Wick: Chapter 4. [Keanu Reeves](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a29687357/john-wick-5-cast-news-release-date/) is back in John Wick: Chapter 4. The first three John Wick movies are all streaming on Peacock, so it's likely the fourth film will end up there as well. On the red carpet of the premiere, [Reeves said when working with Reddick](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a43375357/keanu-reeves-lance-reddick-tribute/), "every day was special." Right now, the only way to watch John Wick: Chapter 4 is to head to a movie theater. And with dedicated acting from Reeves and the film franchise's various stars (Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Jason Mantzoukas), John Wick has all the best ingredients cementing it as an unforgettable action franchise.

The long journey of the Baba Yaga reaches its new peak, but is Wick's quest for revenge finally over?

John shoots the Marquis in the head, ending the duel and securing his and Winston's freedom. During the mayhem, Caine and Koji engage in a sword fight that ends with Koji's demise. Wick's death is a fitting end to his story, but it won't be the end of this franchise. Though the title character has passed on, he can still be a fixture of prequel projects like The Continental. [out a Hotline Miami](https://gamerant.com/hotline-miami-available-xbox/) level in an abandoned church, and struggles up and down the 200 stairs to the Sacré-Cœur. John lies down on the stairs and peacefully dies of his injuries. John fights an army in the roundabout surrounding the Arc de Triomphe, lives The film opens with John Wick freshly recovered from his gunshot wound and 50-story drop at the end of the previous entry. Wick has been a massive thorn in the side of the High Table since he gunned down one of its twelve leaders at the end of the second film. If Wick wins, he'll be free and clear, his bounty will be expunged, and Winston's status will be restored. The duel is set for sundown, and if either party is late, their life is forfeit. Sure enough, John Wick: Chapter 4 delivers on all the promise it's built up over a trilogy of excellent action films.

John Wick returns for his most epic adventure yet in a fourth instalment that takes everything great about the series and turns it all the way up to 11.

And as long as they keep this up, even in the form of spin-offs, audiences will continue to lap it up. I laughed and smiled all the way through damn near every minute of this film, and the more bonkers it got, the more I went with it. This is a film where getting shot at point blank range is both barely noticeable and very easily dodge-able and where at least 90 percent of the Earth's population are professional hitmen, 5 percent are women, and zero percent are children. They understand that it is the characters, the humour, and the jaw-dropping action that keeps us coming back for more. What would returning veterans Laurence Fishburne and Ian McShane's scene-chewing be without Keanu's calming, understated presence; what would this film's big bad, the Marquis (played with flamboyant relish and maximum cod-Frenchiness by the great Bill Skarsgård), be without John Wick's steeliness to play against? More John Wick certainly appeals, but this is such an excellent conclusion to his story that a 5th John Wick film now seems as redundant as the Between some relatively underwhelming superhero films and unneeded sequels to [Avatar](https://www.news24.com/life/arts-and-entertainment/film/reviews/review-avatar-the-way-of-water-is-pure-unabashed-cinema-with-some-of-the-most-glorious-visuals-ever-20221217-3) and [The Matrix](https://www.news24.com/life/arts-and-entertainment/film/reviews/the-matrix-resurrections-20211224-2), the big-budget, genre-driven side of Hollywood has been a bit underwhelming of late ( [Top Gun: Maverick](https://www.news24.com/life/arts-and-entertainment/film/reviews/top-gun-maverick-20220527) aside, of course), so John Wick: Chapter 4 really scratched a certain itch that I hadn't noticed was there. I'm not quite sure if this is the best John Wick film, but it is the one where I really got it, where any and all of my previous reservations about the series went flying out of the window. Stahelski, Hatten and Finch also smartly keep the actual plot fairly simple while expanding just enough on the whole mythology of this universe to keep things interesting. Or maybe this incredible, single-shot, birds-eye-view of John Wick taking out dozens of goons with an incendiary shotgun that looks almost exactly like a particularly busy level of the video game Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris (but in a good way)? Forget the over-edited, quick-cutting set pieces of pretty much all modern action films not starring Tom Cruise (and Everything, Everywhere...); this is immaculately choreographed, beautifully shot stuff with lengthy single-shots capturing balletic but brutal fight scenes, car chases, gun fights, pistols-at-dawn showdowns, sword fights and even the odd Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark-esque horse chases across the Arabian desert. The cabal of assassins have so far been unable to stop him, but for every ten hitmen he takes down, one hundred take their place, and for every head of the organization he brings down, twenty more seem ready to take their place.

John Wick: Chapter 4 ends with a fight between Caine (Donnie Yen) and John Wick (Keanu Reeves), where Caine seems to kill John Wick. But is John Wick really ...

As of now, it’s also unclear if John Wick 5 is happening—with or without Wick. We see his dog looking at the tombstone. It’s a moment of interiority that we might expect only at the very end of his arc. There’s a reason for [John] to be in Ballerina; it’s very organic.” Wick’s reverie seems to signal the end of his character’s demon-battling. (Wick’s decision also insights a bit of company skepticism in the other assassin. Perhaps future installments of the franchise will see the hitmen unite to take down the high table and their increasingly onerous rules.) John Wick: Chapter 4 corrects all of these limitations by expanding the cast, showcasing fights between these other actors (themselves with varying motives and fighting styles), and so stretching viewer sympathy to include some non-John Wick figures. Wick’s unwillingness to kill Caine is anticipated by his previous hesitation during his fight with Tracker (Shamier Anderson), where he chooses to save Tracker’s dog instead of killing him—a kind of full circle moment for Wick. Caine and Wick count off paces and then draw on one another in the highest stakes battle yet. From the moment we meet Donnie Yen’s Caine in John Wick: Chapter 4—alone in France, with a photo of his daughter, whom he cannot see, due to both self-induced blindness and some vague prohibitory rules—we know he won’t be the typical John Wick baddie. Caine’s motives are, of course, selfish, as are all hitmen’s in the Wick-verse, though they are immediately less selfish than Wick’s remaining drive, which appears to be slaughter in the name of leaving the game.

Keanu Reeves is at the center of this universe as the targeted Wick, fighting his way to a good night's rest one adversary and one stunning sequence at a time.

To show you he’s entering into the world of Gods, he’s coming into this world of deities, and he’s coming in to shift the balance. For me, for every shot I do first, I try to make it the most beautiful shot of the day. It doesn’t just fall out of the sky.” You gotta try, you gotta fail, you gotta stand back up and fail again, and fail again, and fail again, until you get it right. And that reminds me, “Relax, you’re here to make something beautiful, and the crew knows that you’re here, and they respect the craft.” But it’s about dealing with the fear, and knowing that you’re supposed to make mistakes, and even though I’m the director, I’m not supposed to know everything. It’s when you do it in place of something, when you don’t have the money or the time, or the creative thought or the energy and you hide behind what you don’t have. I believe in the yin and yang of that. We want to light guys on fire and for the fire to be the light references. If I think it’s cool and it tingles me, then I’m like, “OK, we’re on the right path.” And then you get your creatives to work. So I wanted to do a little subversive thing where you didn’t know it was coming, so I wanted to keep focused on the character and Scott’s acting ability and how he carries the scene. And we kind of took a little piece of wisdom from all of them about how to change the look of the floors and to use the dragon’s breath [from the shotguns] as a lighting reference. Keanu and I get together on the Monday after, and there’s a bottle of champagne and there’s a bottle of whiskey, depending on which way it goes. It’s funny, you jump out of a plane, and not a lot of people can relate to that, but everybody can relate to slipping on ice.

Keanu Reeves returns in 'John Wick: Chapter 4' as the classic hitman in the hugely successful Lionsgate movie franchise.

Fury of the Gods](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/shazam-fury-of-the-gods/). [Keanu Reeves](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/john-wick-chapter-4-ending-keanu-reeves-explained-1235355285/) once again stars as the expert assassin nicknamed Baba Yaga. The cast also features Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Rina Sawayama, Ian McShane and [the late Lance Reddick](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/lance-reddick-remembered-john-wick-four-premiere-1235356559/), who died earlier this month. Its current critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes rests at an impressive 96 percent, the best ranking of any John Wick title (the three previous pics all hovered in the mid-to-high 80 percent range). By Sunday, that number should be north of $700 million. One challenge: John Wick 4‘s running time is just shy of three hours, meaning fewer show times. [Subscribe Sign Up](https://cloud.email.hollywoodreporter.com/signup/) The film is produced by Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Stahelski. [Chad Stahelski](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/john-wick-filmmaker-chad-stahelski-sequels-oscar-stunt-snubs-firearms-1235343132/), the film is jam-packed with the usual mayhem, violence, balletic physicality and morbid humor that have come to define the action franchise. [John Wick: Chapter 4](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/john-wick-chapter-4-review-keanu-reeves-1235347803/) shot up the Thursday evening [box office](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/t/box-office/) with a huge $8.9 million in previews. John Wick took in a global total of $86.1 million; John Wick: Chapter 2 grossed $174.3 million; and John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum hit $328.3 million. [Share this article on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/john-wick-4-box-office-thursday-previews-1235359935/&title=Box%20Office:%20‘John%20Wick%204’%20Blazes%20to%20$8.9M%20in%20Thursday%20Previews&sdk=joey&display=popup&ref=plugin&src=share_button&app_id=1153511048447777) [Share this article on Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/john-wick-4-box-office-thursday-previews-1235359935/&text=Box%20Office%3A%20%E2%80%98John%20Wick%204%E2%80%99%20Blazes%20to%20%248.9M%20in%20Thursday%20Previews&via=thr) [Share this article on Email](mailto:?subject=thr%20:%20Box%20Office:%20‘John%20Wick%204’%20Blazes%20to%20$8.9M%20in%20Thursday%20Previews&body=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/john-wick-4-box-office-thursday-previews-1235359935/%20-%20Box%20Office:%20‘John%20Wick%204’%20Blazes%20to%20$8.9M%20in%20Thursday%20Previews) [Show additional share options](#) [Share this article on Print]() [Share this article on Comment](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/john-wick-4-box-office-thursday-previews-1235359935/#respond) [Share this article on Whatsapp](whatsapp://send?text=Box%20Office:%20‘John%20Wick%204’%20Blazes%20to%20$8.9M%20in%20Thursday%20Previews%20-%20https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/john-wick-4-box-office-thursday-previews-1235359935/) [Share this article on Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=1&url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/john-wick-4-box-office-thursday-previews-1235359935/&title=Box%20Office:%20‘John%20Wick%204’%20Blazes%20to%20$8.9M%20in%20Thursday%20Previews&summary&source=thr) [Share this article on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/john-wick-4-box-office-thursday-previews-1235359935/&title=Box%20Office:%20‘John%20Wick%204’%20Blazes%20to%20$8.9M%20in%20Thursday%20Previews) [Share this article on Pinit](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/john-wick-4-box-office-thursday-previews-1235359935/&description=Box%20Office:%20‘John%20Wick%204’%20Blazes%20to%20$8.9M%20in%20Thursday%20Previews) [Share this article on Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/widgets/share/tool/preview?shareSource=legacy&canonicalUrl&url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/john-wick-4-box-office-thursday-previews-1235359935/&posttype=link&title=Box%20Office:%20‘John%20Wick%204’%20Blazes%20to%20$8.9M%20in%20Thursday%20Previews)

Retired hitman John Wick has always looked like a video game protagonist. His movies are packed with multi-stage levels…

Frogger, for those uninitiated in the ways of the dastardly dodging amphibian, is a 1980s arcade game in which a frog dodges traffic as it crosses a road. Stahelski resists the temptation to repeat the trick and go top-down for this one, but Wick's triumphant trot along the Arc de Triomphe is just as intense as Frogger can be. Either way, it acts as a wonderful meta nod to the video game that perhaps best suits John Wick. It was no surprise, then, to see John Wick mods pop up for the Hotline Miami games when fans realised the similarities and got to work. My favourite scene in John Wick: Chapter 4, though, doesn't just look inspired by Hotline Miami, it looks like Hotline Miami. The John Wick movies are often compared to Dennaton Games' top-down shooter Hotline Miami, and with good reason.

Keanu Reeves' "John Wick: Chapter 4" is targeting a franchise-best opening weekend gross.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s “Creed III” is also in a tight race with “Shazam!” and “Scream,” projecting about $8 million in ticket sales in its fourth weekend of release. “Fury of the Gods” looks to push its North American gross to roughly $45 million after the weekend. The self-branded slasher “requel” is projecting an $8.8 million gross for its third weekend, showing staying power with a 49% drop from its last outing. Paramount and Spyglass Media’s “Scream VI” could end up topping “Fury of the Gods” for second place. But with an opening weekend that already looks to outperform original estimates and strong word-of-mouth buzzing among fans, the weeks ahead look bright for “Wick.” The “John Wick” series has achieved a consistent growth that most modern Hollywood franchises can only envy, beginning with a storyline written from scratch and following with a series of entries that have each proven to be bigger than the last.

Parsing the meaning behind the post-credits scene and ending of 'John Wick: Chapter 4,' in which Keanu Reeves's character dies.

This is why he pretty much has to disappear off the face of the Earth. And maybe even we have to believe that John Wick is dead. On the question of God and an afterlife, John has remained noncommittal in the past. This is precisely the fate that John wants to avoid. At ten paces, Caine fires before John and gets him in the side of the belly. John has played by the Table’s rules, the very rules he’s been accused of breaking for several films now, and prevailed. But Caine, who has been trying to kill John Wick throughout the film, also happens to be John’s friend. Remember, he was the one who rescued John Wick at the end of John Wick: Chapter 3, after our hero took what must be one of the most spectacular falls off a building in movie history and everyone thought he was dead. A final duel fought according to the High Table’s ancient codes has, over the course of Chapter 4, been built up as the one thing that could liberate John for good. Even if he isn’t, that’s a hell of an idea to introduce right at the end, relating to a character who is presumably dead and gone forever. We see Caine, now re-retired and supposedly free of all his obligations as a hired assassin, walking to listen to his violin-virtuoso daughter as she plays in a crowded outdoor plaza. And there’s a hint of it as we see the dog turning off-screen.

Chad Stahelski told Insider that Scott Adkins' villain in "John Wick: Chapter 4" is a big Easter egg for action movie fans.

That's their job!" To all these people that we grew up loving," the director said. that's what my whole team is — they spend all day coming up with cool stuff. Franchise newcomers Hiroyuki Sanada, Rina Sawayama, Donnie Yen, and Bill Skarsgård join the likes of [the late Lance Reddick](https://www.insider.com/john-wick-4-honor-lance-reddick-red-carpet-premiere-photos-2023-3), Ian McShane, and Laurence Fishburne. That's definitely similar to Wick's predicament in "Chapter 3" and "Chapter 4." ["John Wick: Chapter 4"](https://www.insider.com/john-wick-chapter-4-review-keanu-reeves-sequel-2023-3) pits [Keanu Reeves](https://www.insider.com/keanu-reeves-life-career-timeline-2019-6)' titular hitman against armies of other assassins in a globetrotting adventure that also features a number of impressive faces along the way.

John Wick: Chapter 4 has me excited about director Chad Stahelski's upcoming projects, but none more than his Ghost of Tsushima adaptation.

When I was watching the final showdown between John Wick and Caine, I couldn’t help but be transported back to my first time experiencing the game’s closing moments where Jin Sakai and Lord Shimura have a slow, methodical, and personal duel beneath a Japanese maple tree. I can’t wait to see what Chad Stahleski does with this incredibly personal moment between uncle and nephew who reluctantly fight one another to the death. But most of all, Stahelski and his team treated the imagery and iconography of Japanese culture with utmost respect, so much so it didn’t feel ingenuine or degrading. I keep going back to the expansive Osaka Continental sequence and the way in which the movie’s central narrative is moved along by the brilliant action. [the Rainbow Six movie](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/michael-b-jordans-rainbow-six-movie-is-finally-moving-forward-with-a-major-john-wick-talent), and [his long-in-the-works Highlander reboot](https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1589680/the-highlander-reboot-just-made-a-very-exciting-choice-for-its-director) sounds cool and all, but after watching the stuntman-turned-director’s latest feature film, John Wick: Chapter 4, I just can’t stop thinking about his anticipated Ghost of Tsushima project. LIke Wick, Jin is also incredibly talented in multiple forms of combat, whether it’s hand-to-hand, with blades, or in ranged weapons, with the bow and arrow taking the place of Wick’s Pit Viper. And while I was thinking about what was going to come next following the movie’s ending, I also couldn’t get Ghost of Tsushima out of my head, and why now is the right time to bring the massive samurai odyssey to the big screen. Some of the [the nearly three-hour epic](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/john-wick-chapter-4-review) that was John Wick: Chapter 4 had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Both are severely injured and left for dead, both are nursed back to health by those who go against the natural order of things, both have bounties on their heads, and the only way each can get out of their situation is by fighting through it. I mean the parallels between the two protagonists are wild, especially in John Wick: Chapter 4. Various characters have either broken those rules (like killing someone inside one of the Continental hotels) and challenged the codes and traditions of the old ways, creating an incredibly interesting dynamic that further sets the property apart from other action movies.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is on track to deliver a franchise-best opening weekend as it opens with $29 million at the Friday box office.

Fury of the Gods](https://collider.com/tag/shazam-2/) took the brunt of the blowback. [barring Shazam 2, of course](https://collider.com/shazam-fury-of-the-gods-review/). [Creed III](https://collider.com/tag/creed-3/) will take the fourth spot with a projected $8.3 million on its fourth weekend, for a running domestic total of $140 million. [John Wick: Chapter Two](https://collider.com/tag/john-wick-2/) grossed $171 million worldwide after a $30 million opening weekend, and the first film — [John Wick](https://collider.com/tag/john-wick/) — made $86 million worldwide in 2014, after a $14 million opening. Sony’s science-fiction dinosaur film [65](https://collider.com/65-movie-review-adam-driver/) will probably take the fifth spot with a projected $2.9 million third weekend, after $775,000 on Friday. After debuting with an [underwhelming $30 million](https://collider.com/shazam-fury-of-the-gods-domestic-box-office-30-million/) last weekend, the DC superhero sequel is looking at a hefty drop in weekend two, and is currently projected to make $9 million after a $2.5 million second Friday. While each movie in the series has been received warmly, John Wick 4 is the [best-reviewed](https://collider.com/john-wick-chapter-4-review/) of the lot, currently sitting at a 95% “fresh” rating on review aggregator [Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/john_wick_chapter_4). [John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum](https://collider.com/tag/john-wick-3/)’s $56 million opening weekend in 2019. [Scream VI](https://collider.com/tag/scream-6/) might even outperform Shazam 2 once the dust settles. With a $29.4 million Friday, including $8.9 million from [Thursday previews](https://collider.com/john-wick-4-box-office-previews/), John Wick 4 is eying a franchise-best $70 million-plus opening weekend. [Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves](https://collider.com/keanu-reeves-chad-stahelski-john-wick-chapter-4-staircase-stunt-paris/) as a ruthless assassin, who goes on the run from contract killers operating under the umbrella of a sinister organization. This is on the higher end of [projections](https://collider.com/john-wick-chapter-4-global-box-office-projection/), which ranged from $65 million to $70 million heading into the film’s first weekend.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is packed with deaths and action, but it also includes a variety of Easter eggs and hidden details that could be missed.

John Wick 4 gives Keanu another opportunity to fight some bad guys in the middle of a club, this time as he attempts to finish the job that will get him back in the good graces of his family. The franchise revealed in John Wick 3 that The other painting in the Louvre that receives the most screentime is a famous piece known as The Raft of the Medusa. Mission: Impossible - Fallout had Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt speed through the location on a motorcycle, but John Wick 4 has Keanu Reeves' character drive in the opposite direction of traffic in his car. A staple of the John Wick movies has been seeing Keanu Reeves' character punch, stab, and shoot his enemies in the middle of a rave. The worldbuilding in John Wick 4 included introducing the fourth Continental featured in the franchise by visiting Osaka, Japan. The fascinating aspect of this detail is the implication that even someone as high ranking in the High Table as the Harbinger once had to reprove his loyalty to the cause and cut off one of his fingers in the past. A surprise comes early in John Wick 4 when it is quickly mentioned that The Elder from John Wick 3 died. There are a few teases of John Wick's family in John Wick: Chapter 4 that refers to details established before. The bounty on John Wick's head increases well beyond where it is in John Wick 3. A moment in John Wick 4 reveals that John's wedding ring is missing now. It is mentioned that the Elder whom John Wick encountered before is now dead and has been replaced by a new individual played by George Georgiou.

The latest installment of the Keanu Reeves franchise is in theaters now. john-wick-4-total-film-social-featured Image via Total Film.

[Ballerina](https://collider.com/ballerina-keanu-reeves-ana-de-armas-comments/), a spinoff film starring Ana de Armas. “Director [Chad Stahelski’s](https://collider.com/tag/chad-stahelski/) John Wick 4 is so grandiose and rich, and we’re thrilled to expand this film and Lionsgate’s entire slate beyond the screen.” As John Wick marches his way [back into theaters](https://collider.com/john-wick-chapter-4-reactions-is-it-good/), an exclusive report via [Deadline](https://deadline.com/2023/03/john-wick-chapter-4-consumer-products-line-1235308268/) has revealed an extensive line of tie-in products related to the film for fans to keep an eye out for.

Here's where you may have already seen the cast of the latest installment in the John Wick franchise.

[Clancy Brown](https://movieweb.com/person/clancy-brown/) appeared in John Wick: Chapter 4 as "The Harbinger," a new character in the John Wick franchise. [Ian McShane](https://movieweb.com/person/ian-mcshane/) has built an impressive resume over the last 60 years, which has seen him play the titular character of BBC's Lovejoy, Al Swearengen in HBO's Deadwood, and Mr. [Shamier Anderson](https://movieweb.com/person/shamier-anderson/) has joined the John Wick franchise as a tracker operating under the name of "Mr. [Scott Adkins](https://movieweb.com/person/scott-adkins/) showcased his fighting skills as Yuri Boyka in the Undisputed franchise, appearing in Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, Undisputed III: Redemption, and Boyka: Undisputed. [Donnie Yen](https://movieweb.com/person/donnie-yen/) portrayed the Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man in the Ip Man film series. His biggest film was Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which cast him as the legendary pirate, Blackbeard, who was the father of Angelica (Penélope Cruz) in the film. [Rina Sawayama](https://movieweb.com/person/rina-sawayama/). [Laurence Fishburne](https://movieweb.com/person/laurence-fishburne/), who previously worked with Reeves and played Morpheus in the Matrix trilogy. [Keanu Reeves](https://movieweb.com/person/keanu-reeves/)' last film before John Wick: Chapter 4 was the 2022 animated adventure, DC League of Super-Pets, in which he voiced Bruce Wayne / Batman. The game held a special place in the actor's heart, as evidenced by him playing the game the night before he passed (via [straightforward revenge story](https://movieweb.com/john-wick-chapter-4-first-look-keanu-reeves-photo/), but set the foundation for a detailed world full of mercenaries and assassins. [John Wick: Chapter 4](https://movieweb.com/movie/john-wick-4/)has finally arrived, featuring new characters as well as some returning faces.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is packed with references to everything from silent film comedies to film noir.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is as much a sendoff to the titular character as it is a sprawling, epic love letter to the masters of filmmaking over the last century. John Wick is also as much a noir as it is an action movie, as John must search within the lower levels of each city to follow a complex series of clues that lead him to his next target. This is a part of the reason John Wick: Chapter 4 is so constantly thrilling; between Paris, Berlin, New York, and Osaka, each new location is more complex and layered than the previous one. The reverence for Asian performers is evident, as John Wick: Chapter 4 gives us the chance to see legendary action stars Hiroyuki Sanada and Donnie Yen duke it out in an epic brawl. [Akira Kurosawa](https://collider.com/best-movies-akira-kurosawa-letterboxd/)’s classics Yojimbo, Throne of Blood, The Hidden Fortress, and Rashomon all share. In Modern Times, The Tramp goes on a wild quest just to give a girl flowers, and in John Wick: Chapter 4, Reeves spares Mr. It’s hard not to think of Keaton’s classic The General, a film that takes place during a nonstop war, when watching John Wick: Chapter 4 because every location introduces new assassins and enemies. However, the John Wick saga has influences of its own, and [John Wick: Chapter 4](https://collider.com/john-wick-chapter-4-review/) pays tribute to the extensive history of action cinema that has come before. However, John Wick: Chapter 4 goes beyond the series’ initially simple premise into a grandiose homage to 100 years of artistry. John has been excommunicated by the High Table, and the only way to clear his name is by challenging Marquis to a duel. John Wick: Chapter 4 is easily the biggest, boldest, and most emotional installment in the series thus far. [John Wick](https://collider.com/tag/john-wick/) was initially hailed as [Keanu Reeves](https://collider.com/tag/keanu-reeves/)’ comeback vehicle, but in the near decade since its release, the film has proven to be much more than that.

The duo discussed in length several reasons why the character should come back a third time. john-wick-4-keanu-reeves-social Image via ...

They do that because usually, movies open a little later in the country, and when they do press tours there, they already know how the movie [fared in the American territory](https://collider.com/john-wick-chapter-4-global-box-office-projection/) and if the studio intends to greenlight a sequel. [Ana de Armas](https://collider.com/tag/ana-de-armas/) which also features Keanu Reeves' participation. [wins his duel](https://collider.com/john-wick-chapter-4-ending-explained/) against High Table member Marquis (Bill Skarsgard), the injuries sustained in the duel end up taking the best of him. Of course, that brings on the question of [where the franchise can go](https://collider.com/john-wick-chapter-4-ballerina-ana-de-armas/) without its title character if Lionsgate decides to greenlight John Wick 5. [meaningful location](https://collider.com/john-wick-chapter-4-akira-character-poster-rina-sawayama/) for the fourth installment. [John Wick: Chapter 4](https://collider.com/tag/john-wick-chapter-4/) may seem like brainless action flicks that the studio just wants to put out with no regard for story, we often ignore that there is a thought process behind it and screenwriters and directors look at a potential sequel from our perspective.

Chapter 4 writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch explain how Reeves stretches the backstory of the John Wick movies, and Donnie Yen improved their blind ...

And that was something he brought to the character, this precision.” [create this whole mythology in your head](https://www.polygon.com/2019/5/16/18564505/john-wick-3-interview-writer-origin-story-explained) for the thousands of adventures this guy probably went on,” he says. “Just by the nature of the performances these two guys are giving, whenever they’re on screen together, you as an audience member get a real sense of a shared history they might have together,” he says. He brought a certain level of laser-like intensity, shark-like intensity, that wasn’t necessarily written into the character. And he brought that to the character. “And I think that part of the system is that Keanu believes he is John Wick while he’s making John Wick [movies].

"The action sequences aren't thought of as fights but like a ballet, as if we're watching actors dancing together," Dan Laustsen told TheWrap.