The entire entertainment industry was plunged into a state of shock yesterday when character actor Lance Reddick suddenly passed away at the age of 60, with the news of his death coming completely out of the blue.
After all, the veteran of countless high-profile movies and TV shows had been hitting the press trail for John Wick: Chapter 4 as recently as this week, and it was no surprise that so many of his friends, colleagues, and contemporaries were quick to voice their utter shock and disbelief at the passing of a star who could always be relied on to give a solid performance regardless of which genre or medium he was appearing in.
The fourth installment in the ass-kicking action franchise hits theaters next week, and will be tinged with bittersweetness as a result. Reddick will reprise his role as wizened sage and Continental veteran Charon, and was lined up to return once again in both Ana de Armas-led spinoff Ballerina and the in-development Chapter 5.
With that in mind, his reflections on the past, present, and future of John Wick in an interview with Collider conducted only several days ago is more poignant and powerful than anyone wanted it to be.
“For me, it’s two things. First of all, I’m just amazed that it’s gotten to this point because it started as such a small, almost an independent film that I wasn’t sure was going to be much more than maybe a cult hit that I knew was just a great script that turned into this juggernaut.
So, the fact that I’m part of not just such a big franchise, but such a big franchise that’s so, so well done, and it literally changed action films and then created a world that you’d never seen before is amazing to me. And then, the fact that I’ve been fortunate in my career to have had that experience, particularly television, more than once. So I’m just kind of, “Damn, this is my career. This is cool.”
With Chapter 4 earning rave reviews to continue John Wick‘s ascension as arguably the finest cinematic universe in the industry, it’s reassuring to know that the future is in safe hands, even if it’s tragic that Reddick won’t be around to see where it ends up heading next.
