Intro

Most stars in Hollywood dream of one day being in a franchise where their character gets to enjoy cult status. And then there's Keanu Reeves. He has done it twice: once as Neo in "The Matrix" and some time later as "John Wick". Now, it has been three years since the third part of the film series came out in theaters. But it has been obvious for a long time that the story around the retired hitman is not over yet. Unfortunately, the stresses and strains of the recent years repeatedly forced the producers to postpone the premiere of a fourth chapter. Finally, a date seems to have been set, and that is March 24, 2023, meaning that it's high time for us to check out the upcoming film and perhaps take another look at what happened in the last few installments. In addition, we have summarized everything important related to the cast, plot and production for you in this video.

What Has Happened So Far

First of all, let's take a look at the past to recall the main events. This is where we give you the inevitable spoiler warning. If you haven't seen the last movies, you should rather skip forward to the next section now. After losing his beloved wife Helen to a terminal illness, the widower John Wick is given a cute little beagle as a final gift from her, so to speak. Daisy, as John has named the dog, unfortunately does not have a long life ahead of her. After the professional killer is approached by a group of young Russians at a gas station and rejects their offer to buy his beautiful Mustang, they feel offended and want to pay him back by stealing the valuable possession. Unfortunately, the dog dies in the process and after the criminals take away not only his car but also his last memento of his wife, John Wick vows revenge. By the end of the 101-minute bloodbath, the vendetta is complete. Finally, in an animal clinic, it sort of comes to a happy ending, because there he saves a dog from being euthanized and goes for a walk with the young pit bull puppy. "John Wick: Chapter 2" is set just a few days after the first movie. In this one, John is asked to redeem a so-called blood oath. The mission does not go as planned and John is seriously injured. With the help of the Bowery King, John is patched up, given a weapon and the exact location of his adversary Santino D'Antonio. After a tense battle between John and Santino, which ends in the assassin's refuge Continental, John forbiddenly shoots the antagonist right on the spot. As a result, the mafia increases the bounty to $14 million, causing John to lose his privileges and access to the underworld's resources. "John Wick: Chapter 3" also picks up directly from its predecessor and initially shows John on the run through New York City. In search of the elder of the High Table, John must wander through the desert until he can no longer walk, as one of the members instructs. John eventually finds himself collapsing from exhaustion in the desert, and indeed, he is found there by the elder's henchmen and then brought to him. The elder demands the death of Continental boss Winston, and so John makes his way back to New York. After Winston betrays him, he is shot and falls from the roof of the hotel. John, who is severely injured, escapes back to the Bowery King, who is neither well disposed towards the High Table after having been mutilated. So much for all the bloody action until the end of the third film. And all of this is just due to a Russian gangster who had the idea to murder John Wick's dog. Well, that was a huge mistake.

Cast

The "John Wick" series is known for its cool and deadly characters. So what can we look forward to in "John Wick: Chapter 4"? Let's take a moment to talk about the cast of the film and the old as well as the new characters.

Jonathan "John" Wick

First and foremost, of course, there is Jonathan "John" Wick himself. Arguably the world's most popular killer continues to be played by one of the world's most popular actors, that being Keanu Reeves. There is nothing but love for the friendly neighborhood assassin, as he did not start the bloodshed himself, but merely took revenge for his sweet dog. And let's be honest: Who among us wouldn't do the same for their four-legged friend? So far, he's killed no less than 306 people in the first three movies, leaving most of the other killers far behind… well, maybe with the exception of Marvel's Thanos. But our anti-hero has of course not survived entirely unscathed. Be it shot, stabbed in the stomach, injured by bottles or thrown out of a building: In the end, he always managed to stand up again, fix his always well-fitted suit and look for his next target.

Old Acquaintances

As John's first ex-companion, we have to deal with Winston, played by Ian McShane. The latter turned on him at the end of Chapter 3 and shot him several times until he fell off the Continental. This brought the Continental back to its old status and Winston back to his old job. Whether he intended to kill him or was aware that he would survive it is not really clear at the end. But after the adjudicator leaves, Winston seems to be smiling and says "Baba Yaga". This suggests that he may know exactly what happened to John, who just barely survived the fall and was taken to the Bowery King. And this is who we will deal with next. The Bowery King is played by Laurence Fishburne, which surely put some smiles on the faces of many "Matrix" fans back then, seeing Neo and Morpheus face each other again after such a long time in a completely different world. His real name is not known and may remain a secret forever. The Bowery King compares John's injuries to his own and asks him whether he is angry with the High Table. After John answers in the affirmative, he reveals that he will wage a war against the High Table for wrongfully punishing him and killing his men. John makes it clear that he intends to join his war and thus the groundwork for Chapter 4 is laid. A little side fact: The name Bowery King is an allusion to the Middle Ages. Apparently there used to be beggar kings who got information from vagrants and homeless people and sold it on, similar to what Lord Varys did in "Game of Thrones". Finally, of course, we can't do without Lance Reddick as Charon. He is the concierge of the hotel and Winston's right-hand man. He takes care of all kinds of tasks in the hotel and also offers John all sorts of services, for example, taking care of his dog, or shooting people down if he has to.

The New Hunters

In each part there were also all sorts of new bounty hunters who were out to get John. This is of course also the case in "John Wick 4". Thereby we will also see some faces, which we know from other martial arts movies. Let's start with the lesser known names. First we have Rina Sawayama in the role of Akira. Sawayama is mostly known for being a singer and a model. She has made the occasional appearance on late night shows, however "John Wick 4" will be her very first film. Then, Scott Adkins is best known from many second-tier action movies and will play a character named "Killa" here. The British actor and martial artist works not only as an actor, but also as a stuntman. Since 1998 he has participated in about 60 productions. The most famous among them should be "The Expendables 2", "Doctor Strange" and "Ip Man 4". As the third newcomer we have Shamier Anderson, called "Tracker" in the film. The 31-year-old has been acting in rather small productions for 10 years. Therefore, the film may also serve as a stepping stone for him. Another martial arts artist signed on is Marko Zaror in the role of "Chidi". In addition to his own acting roles, he has often worked as a stunt double for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. These were the four less known faces in the movie, now let's move on to the old hands. First we have the young Swede Bill Skarsgård. He will play a character called "Marquis". His probably biggest role was the clown "Pennywise" in "IT", though he was also part of Marvel's "Eternals". And with Hiroyuki Sanada, the filmmakers were able to secure one of the best-known Japanese actors. In "John Wick: Chapter 4" he will slip into the role of Shimazu. Whether it's "Bullet Train", "Mortal Kombat", "Endgame" or "The Wolverine", Sanada has appeared in all kinds of major productions over the past 20 years, either as a sidekick or as an antagonist. With Donnie Yen, the producers were able to bring in another star from the East. The "Ip Man" star plays a bounty hunter named "Caine". Yen gained great notoriety in the past ten years primarily in the role of Wing Chun master "Ip Man" and, of course, in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" as the fighting monk Chirrut Îmwe. Due to his achievements in recent years, in 2017 he was even admitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: the organization that annually awards the Oscars. The final well-known actress we have is Natalia Tena in the role of "Katia". Most of you will know Tena for playing the Auror Nymphadora Tonks from "Harry Potter". Her last major television role was in "The Mandalorian" in 2019. We still have one big name for you, but a role name in the film is not yet known: Clancy Brown will also be involved in the film. The 1.92 meter tall giant became known in the role of Kurgan in "Highlander" from 1986. Since then, he has participated in well over 200 productions as an actor or voice actor. His last role was in the rather unknown movie "Last Looks" in 2021.

Plot

As always, as long as the filmmakers remain silent, it is not that easy to talk about the plot. At least Keanu Reeves himself presented the first teaser trailer for the movie at the ComicCon in San Diego. Besides a lot of action, the trailer shows John training hard for his vendetta with the Bowery King. At the end, the King of the Homeless even shows up with a fresh suit and asks John whether he's ready. Anyhow, it's clear that the two will be hunting down the High Table and its 12 bosses. From the looks of the trailer, these will include Clancy Brown and Skarsgård's character. Another interesting aspect will be the roles of Winston and Charon. Both have obviously turned against John, but whether they really still work for the High Table is unclear. After all, the latter would have sacrificed the Continental and Winston without batting an eye. It will also be particularly exciting to delve deeper into the character of the Bowery King and his empire, or rather, what is left of it. For one thing should be clear: He and John can only move in the shadows now. In the trailer, Akira, Tracker and Shimazu seem to be on John's side. Mainly because John and Shimazu fight together against Donnie Yen as Caine, who either works for or with Marquis. About the other newcomers, unfortunately, no information is known yet. Director Chad Stahelski also spoke a bit about the plot and the end of the film in an interview. He emphasized that the fourth film will definitely end on a very emotional level and will also bring some storylines to a close. This does not mean that it will be the final part, since in addition to a fifth film, a prequel is also being planned in the form of the miniseries "The Continental". We hope to find out more about the plot soon. One thing is for sure, though: there will surely be no lack of action.

Production

The new movie was already confirmed back in May 2019, and Chad Stahelski will once again take up his position in the director's chair. Incidentally, he was Keanu Reeves' stunt double in the first Matrix film and was recently allowed to be beaten up by Trinity in Part 4 of the sci-fi series as the unpleasant husband Chad. Thus, both the director and the lead actor share a friendship that has lasted for years, and we think that shows in the "John Wick" series. In December 2019, Reeves began gun fu training in preparation for filming both the fourth John Wick movie and "Matrix: Resurrections". A preview of his progress could already be seen in the trailer. There was a sequence with Donnie Yen, in which the two of them showed off the combination of hand-to-hand combat and firearms. After a long period of delay, shooting then began on June 28, 2021 at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam, as well as in Berlin and Paris. A mere five months later, filming was officially concluded. It is also known that a fifth part is already being worked upon. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer announced that the script has already been in development since August 2020. Stahelski, by the way, told The Hollywood Reporter his secret for the series' success: He claimed that John Wick simply has to be made to suffer. In the interview, he stated, "We keep finding new and interesting ways to have John Wick suffer. That's where the action comes from. Figure out how to make him suffer, and then design backward." In retrospect, this is a very smart approach.

Outro

Alright, that was all the latest news about the fourth part of "John Wick". Which new actor are you looking forward to the most and how do you think the whole movie will end? Let us know in the comments section, and if you liked this video, please feel free to give it a thumbs up. See you next time.