Cinemacon attendees were treated to a first look at John Wick: Chapter 4, and Keanu Reeves seems to be in finer form than ever before.
The highly-anticipated action sequel isn’t expected to launch for another 11 months, but Lionsgate still came prepared to show off more high pace action fans have come to expect from the franchise.
According to The Globe and Mail arts editor Barry Hertz, the new footage is “colorful, bloody, and brutal” with more of the movie’s stars and even samurai action. One of the highlights reportedly includes Wick wielding nunchucks and saying “I am going to kill them all”.
Deadline reports that the trailer opens with Wick training in a gym before Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King enters, keying Wick up for his revenge. Later in the trailer, Ian McShane’s Winston character warns John, “I want you to find peace, John. The only path this leads to is death”.
John Wick: Chapter 4 will see the return of director Chad Stahelski and titular star Keanu Reeves alongside many of the other key players from the first three films. The pair were bought onto stage at CinemaCon by Lionsgate Chairman Joe Drake who paraded what the franchise has accomplished so far.
“Moviegoers told us that watching the first Wick was like seeing the genre evolve right before their eyes, with fight scenes crazier and somehow more real than anything they’d ever seen. Shepherded by Chad in the director’s chair, and the Baba Yaga himself, these incredible filmmakers continue to subvert genre conventions and defy audience expectations. More lore. More inventiveness. Exquisite locations.
“From the Roman Catacombs, to Halle Berry shooting her way out of Casablanca. From John killing a 7-foot-tall hitman with a library book, to horses galloping across the endless sweeping dunes of the Jordan desert.
“That’s how John Wick became more than a beloved franchise,a singular experience and a cultural phenomenon. An original story with no pre-existing fanbase that made it to the big screen bringing audiences rushing back to the theater for a fourth time.”
John Wick: Chapter 4 is currently expected to arrive in theaters on March 24, 2023.