There’s nothing wrong with crafting an ambiguous ending for a blockbuster sequel, but did anyone really buy that director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves had really opted to end John Wick: Chapter 4 with the death of the title hero?
We’re not saying that it wasn’t their intention to send the iconic assassin out on his sword on a permanent basis, but the fact it only took a couple of days for Lionsgate to put Chapter 5 back on the table rendered it obsolete in an instant, before producer Erica Lee doubled down by admitting that another direct sequel is “likely.”
We all know what that means, and while more John Wick is never a bad thing, the whole fake-out death proved to be for naught. It’s a frustrating Hollywood practice, but in an interview with The Wrap, we can at least rest easy knowing that Stahelski is planning to take a breather before he decides whether or not to plunge back into the thick of the action.
“That’s just the approach we always take. It’s just, you know, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. We’re not trying to create universes and franchises; we just want to do a good movie. And it’s weird, like Keanu has rubbed off on me so much in the last 20 years as someone that endearing does. You hear so many stories about him in Hollywood about what a nice guy is. You know what it is, he’s f*ckin’ pure. He just loves what he f*cking does. And that’s so related to the audience. There’s a reason he’s so f*cking nice to everybody. He is truly grateful. He knows every one of those people that wants an autograph or a picture is. He loves that feedback.
Everybody’s got a good movie in them but you’ve got to get through the 100 shitty ones first. I’ve got to get through all my shitty stuff too. You see me do a John Wick every three years. What do you think is going on during those three years? I’ve got to get better. How many franchises do the same movie over and over again? Can you really see an improvement in the director or the cast between the movies? The best compliment you could give us is you go watch the first John Wick. You think it’s cool. And you see John Wick: Chapter 2 and go, “Holy f*ck, they learned something.” And 3 and 4.”
It’s not a confirmation or denial, but we can read between the lines, especially when Chapter 4 keeps making money hand over fist. We’ll point out again that we’d love nothing more than for John Wick to go the full Fast & Furious route and make it to double figures, but even one more installment only serves to dilute the “definitive” ending we were just given.
