The buzz is high for “John Wick: Chapter 4” ahead of the film’s release. Boasting an epic 169-minute runtime, early reaction has been nothing short of ecstatic for the fourth entry in a franchise that isn’t showing any signs of ending just yet.
A fifth film seems basically guaranteed at this point, Lionsgate was in fact considering shooting the fourth and fifth back-to-back at one point until those plans were ditched as the pandemic played a bit of havoc with shooting schedules.
Now, with press for the new film underway, questions about the next entry are coming up and those involved have started answering them. Chad Stahelski, who has directed all the films to date, was asked this week about whether or not he would return.
The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might think as Stahelski sounds like he needs a break. Talking with Slashfilm, his commitment to a fifth film isn’t set in stone as yet:
“Somewhere, maybe somebody will do it. I’m always saying, ‘This is my last one, this will never happen again.’ And I’ll say that now: This is my last one.
Every time I come back to a ‘Wick,’ there’s been two or three years in between. That’s a lot of time for a human. You know how many pieces of art or music or museums or locations I’ve gone to in three years?
Huge. I mean, think of what you do in a year. What would you do in three? Don’t you think all that would influence you? I just don’t think I’d be very good jumping right into something. I need a little bit of time to get better. I’ve got to go practice.”
Stahelski’s name is attached to various other projects right now including the long in the works “Highlander” reboot, and more likely the film adaptation of the acclaimed PlayStation video game “Ghost of Tsushima”.
Whatever he does, he says one thing it has to do is improve him as a filmmaker otherwise there’s not much point:
“I tried to get better as a storyteller in this one, but I’d be the same guy jumping back into the next one. I’ve got to get better. Keanu’s out there every day getting better – he’s acting, he’s trying new projects. I’ve got to sit in a room and go, ‘Okay, how do I get better as a director?’… I need to get a hell of a lot better before I try to find [another story]. Because otherwise, if you’re not going to get better, if you’re not going to do something different, if you’re not going to try to expand and be artistically better, that’s kind of lame just to do it for a paycheck.”
The fourth “John Wick” also stars Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, Clancy Brown, Natalia Tena, and Ian McShane.
“John Wick: Chapter 4” opens in cinemas on March 24th. Check out Reeves recapping the first three films in 60 seconds below.
Haven't seen the first 3 #JohnWick movies? Don't worry. Keanu Reeves gets you up to speed in 60 seconds. pic.twitter.com/4fDmN1kQ8T
— John Wick: Chapter 4 (@JohnWickMovie) March 8, 2023
