“John Wick: Chapter 4” Character Poster
Chad Stahelski – co-director of the original John Wick and sole director for John Wick: Chapter 2 and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum – will once again be teaming up with Keanu Reeves, and his partner David Leitch (Atomic Blonde), for John Wick: Chapter 4.
(Note: Contrary to previous reports, John Wick: Chapter 4 and John Wick: Chapter 5 will no longer be shot back-to-back due to recent Covid restrictions).
Unlike the first three films, which take place primarily in New York City, John Wick: Chapter 4 will be an international affair with most of the shoot taking place in Berlin and Paris, with additional photography in New York City and Japan.
The biggest news, especially for martial arts and Asian film fans, is that Marko Zaror (Savage Dog, Redeemer), Scott Adkins (Ip Man 4, Max Cloud), Donnie Yen (Ip Man 4) and Hiroyuki Sanada (In the line of Duty, Mortal Kombat) (via Deadline) join an all-star cast that already includes singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama, Shamier Anderson (Wynonna Earp), Laurence Fishburne, who is returning as The Bowery King and Lance Reddick, as Charon.
The 3rd film, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum celebrated a major Box Office Milestone (+$100 million worldwide after just under a week in global release), so Lionsgate will definitely put the pressure on Stahelski/Leitch to get the film rolling as soon as possible.
John Wick: Chapter 4 has a release date for March 24, 2023. Until then, watch the Final Trailer below, as well as the collection of Character Posters that follow:
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- “John Wick 4” Character Poster
I’m sorry to say that Common, Ruby Rose, And Hiroyuki Sanada are not in Chapter 3. Maybe they’ll return in Chapter 4.
After the the finale like presentation before the open ending, it’ll be interesting to see how the film makers up the ante. Maybe Donnie Yen will be someone who outranks The Elder or Iko Uwais becomes the next top enforcer.
Thanks for the heads up Andrew.
Any word on why Hiroyuki Sanada didn’t end up in Chapter 3? Wonder if Mark Dacascos replaced him.
I believe Mark was always set to be the main villain. I’m not sure if Sanada was a rumor or he couldn’t commit. Maybe someone thought his Yakuza boss character in Avengers Endgame was meant for John Wick 3.
the gate de tony jaa ya esta rodada
I really luv this franchise.. My fav action character now..can’t wait for the fourth chapter..
Maybe JW 4 or 5…The Villain is Chow Yun Fat…..
Hell and yes!
I love the idea of Dacascos returning in 4 with a giant sword wound, and a smirk on his face. Maybe he’d support JW this time around.
John Wick…meet Ip Man!! Nerdgasm triggered!
“The big news, especially for martial arts and Asian film fans, is that Hong Kong star Donnie Yen” will die in the movie, saving his friend John Wick. Wanna bet?
Stopped watching John Wick movies after the second one.
The problem I have with the John Wick franchise is that while they show Hollywood is willing to let talent that knows how to shoot action take the reins, it still doesn’t have an understanding of how to sequence action. In all 3 of the Wick flicks the finales end with a fizzle rather than a bang, with the standout action sequence taking place earlier in the runtime – in the original it was the nightclub scene with Daniel Bernhardt, in JW2 it was the fight with Common, and in JW3 it was the whole opening (but especially the knife scene with Roger Yuan!). Action should build in scale, intensity, and what’s at stake, but the JW flicks don’t seem to grasp this aspect of how action and storytelling should work together.
I must agree with you here. The John Wick movies feel like they’re shot sequentially, where the directors (Stahelski and Leitch) start off with the best ideas they got and load them upfront, then slowly run out of steam by the end. I was particularly unpleased with the final section of 3: so much fighting but most of it feel low stakes, low danger. They even wasted the Raid guys but still managed to make Keanu look clumsy by comparison.
On some level I believe that has to do with having stuntmen turned directors at the helm. After all, if you’re a stuntman, maybe you just wanna do or show the most awesome thing right away and then see how the rest goes. Story isn’t exactly a priority in Wick films, given how much of it feels like it’s made up as it goes along (high table stuff). A lot of classic action movies don’t have great action but they’re helmed by people who come from a storytelling/writing background, so they care much more about the flow and structure of story. Even Sammo and Jackie who don’t have conventional education come from a Chinese opera school, and operas have clearly defined acts that end with a big climax, so that’s carried into their work.
Agree with Paul as well.
“so much fighting but most of it feel low stakes” Exactly. This is the problem with most MA films in general (especially the JW franchise).
“This is the problem with most MA films in general”
Speak for yourself, but I found the likes of Hwang Jang Lee’s relentless search for a missing dog in ‘Tiger Over Wall’ to be high stakes stuff.
You nailed it Paul!
I disagree with this notion. Sure, traditionally you should build up the climax, preferably in the finale. However, the John Wick films compensate the lack of proper build-up with the lore and compelling characters the world has. Having said that, I did have problems with John Wick 3 for the promise of being a grander and more epic film compared to the first two in the franchise. For me, the strength of the first two lied in the fact that everything was condensed to a specific location. Now, it has become James Bond esque without actually offering the spectacle that is attached to such a project. My biggest problem was the fact that they preferred hand-to-hand combat to gun play. While Keanu does a good job, it still looks very choreographed when he does that. Not so with the gun play.
Hey guys at COF 🙂 unrelated question to the article but was just wondering if you guys were going to review the new Netflix Spanish martial arts actioner “Xtreme” ? seems like it’s right up Paul’s alley xD was wondering what he’d think.
I did check out the trailer for ‘Xtreme’, but I’m afraid to say it didn’t grab me, so I’ll be giving that one a miss. We do have a review for a certain Michael Jai White flick brewing on the horizon though…
Oh I see all good Paul, will you guys be reviewing the new Rurouni Kenshin movie when it drops on Netflix June 18th :O ?
Paul, I’d recommend you give it a watch, even if you’re not going to review it. Just saw it and until John Wicks 4&5 roll by, XTREME, along with NOBODY and WRATH OF MAN, should slake the thirst for some Hard R-Rated action movies featuring indestructible one-man-army bruisers looking for some righteous retribution nicely. And in a classic case of typecasting, the 2 main baddies here are also the 2 scumbag sex trafficking brothers in RAMBO LAST BLOOD 🙂
Ok guys, since it caught the attention of both Andrew and KayKay, I took the plunge. By popular demand! 🙂 –
https://cityonfire.com/xtreme-aka-xtremo-2021-review-extreme-netflix-martial-arts-spain-kung-fu/
I’m excited about Yen being cast, but I think Stahelski’s going alone on this one too. I haven’t heard anything about Leitch coming back.
Calling it now, Wick’s fighting Chow Yun-Fat and God, himself in the fifth one. Or maybe they’ve got some magic de-aging serum they’ll use on Hwang Jang-lee. Perhaps they’ll bring Bruce Lee back from the dead.
Scott Adkins. I have nothing against him…but he’s far from being on the same level as Yen and Sanada (I’m just talking about charisma, acting!).
We get it, man. WE. GET. IT.
Sorry. But I think I have the right to write what I think about this guy when it’s not insulting…and whenever I feel like it (not every day of course).
DO. YOU. GET. IT?
Well. Fine YOU. GOT. IT.
I’ll write what I want when I want about that guy (no insults of course and not on a daily basis^^).
You can write what you want whenever you want, but I can also tell you that listening to some Internet Tough Guy rant about why Scott Adkins sucks on every single post related to Scott Adkins gets really old, really fast.
Fuck off and die. Got it?
Will Donnie’s participation put some light on his two Hollywood project (The father, Sleeping dogs)?
According to MAAC, Marko Zaror is in talks to be the villain! Color me super stoked!
Marko Zaror!!!!???
Dude he makes Scott Adkins look like Dame Judi Dench in the acting department, this site is nothing more than a Scott Adkins Marko Zaror Paid Appreciation Society….. if an action movie news and review site continues to cover the many projects these people do, i will sniff some more glue, and walk around with a Hasbro P51 stuck on the end of my nose!
This is shaping up very interesting in the cast department
Adkins and Zaror Vs Reeves and Yen, and Sanada who was originally supposed to be in part 3 also in the mix
Inform me the date when u are releasing it
1998. Action fans after watching Donnie Yen’s ‘Ballistic Kiss’ – “That scene in the living room were they’re literally shooting at each other from point blank range is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.”
2022. The ‘John Wick 4’ trailer. 0:33.
Deflecting a bullet with your sword is actually easier than it looks. Viola Davis did the same thing in The Woman King and that was a historical drama
I really don’t like Ringo Lam’s Wild search, but there’s a GREAT and short shooting in a…restaurant/a bar’s pillar, and “EVERYTHING” is already there. That was 1989.
Looks like a cool movie sequel, but the last movie I saw which took place in Paris-Rush Hour 3-wasn’t.
John Liu busting out the moves in ‘Zenkwando Strikes in Paris’ remains the definitive Paris set slice of action, and not even John Wick can change that!
Scott Adkins rocking the fat suit!
I wonder if he’s gonna be a Sammo Hung like character. Donnie better have given him good advice on how to fight with all that stuff on!
Donnie Yen GQ profile. https://youtu.be/OIj55iotnS8
Looks like Donnie’s also gonna be an Oscar presenter this year.
Donnie Yen Kimmel interview. https://youtu.be/DXH9lJN0bMA
I’ll watch Bad City again.
That kind of Wick action is already old, not wicked enough (ha ha) and frankly more than ready for a spoof is it already the case?
I love how Kimmel just talks about $tar war$ and John Wick, insisting how big those movies are.
I’m ready to bet that he hasn’t seen anything with Donnie Yen outside of those two. What a condescending little prick.
I really don’t like Ringo Lam’s Wild search, but there’s a GREAT and short shooting in a…restaurant/a bar’s pillar, and “EVERYTHING” is already there. That was 1989.
Am happy to report that John Wick 4 is 50 shades of awesome. If this is indeed the end of the Wick saga then I’m glad it’s going out on such an epic high. The action is as always meticulously choreographed and credit Chad Stahelski, himself a stuntman and martial artist, to know EXACTLY how to utilize Hiroyuki Sanada, Donnie Yen, Scott Adkins and Marko Zaror, all of whom get their time in the sun to shine.
For Action Fans, a dichotomy that’s been in existence for ages is the fact that big budget Hollywood movies frequently have crappy action, because they invested 200 million in visual effects and location shoots, then gave the stunt coordinator 5 days to put the action together only to have an epileptic camera man and editor fuck it into incoherence. On the other end of the spectrum are low budget flicks that have exquisite stunt choreography they spend weeks and months choreographing, then re-use the same 2 streets and 3 back alley ways for 10 shots, that is if they don’t film the whole thing in ahuge oversized abandoned warehouse in some Eastern European suburb.
The John Wick movies bridge this wonderfully. It respects old school action and stunts and puts them in service of gorgeous looking movies that look, sound and feel like big budget Hollywood Tentpoles.
And for bringing this level of action craftmanship to an audience that thinks the Fast & Furious films are the high watermark of great action (sic!), the John Wick series deserve a lot of respect. It certainly has mine.