MOVIE NEWS – Director Chad Stahelski and lead actor Keanu Reeves love to find ways to make their hitman suffer in John Wick: Chapter 4.

In the sequel to the upcoming action film, John Wick: Chapter 4, the vulnerable one will suffer more than ever before. According to director Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves, which is very much on purpose. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Stahelski explained how they start by figuring out how Wick will suffer, then work backwards to create the thrilling action sequences that have captivated audiences since the franchise’s launch in 2014.

“We are constantly finding new and interesting ways to make John Wick suffer. That’s where the action comes from. We figure out how to make him suffer and then we design backwards.”

Poor, poor Mr Wick. But it’s not just Chad Stahelski conjuring up different ways to test and torture the assassin, many of the ideas also come from Keanu Reeves. And Stahelski says the actor’s suggestions sometimes prove too much even for him. Some even require a period of reflection.

“I came up with a few things, like getting on a horse in the desert. Let’s go for a drive”.

Although little is known about the direction of John Wick: Chapter 4, a trailer for the sequel at the recent CinemaCon event gave us some clues – as well as a shot of Reeves wielding his new favourite weapon, the nunchaku. The footage from CinemaCon begins with Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King asking, “Are you ready, John?” to which the assassin replies, “Yes. I’m going to kill everyone”.

We then see clips of Wick training and killing his enemies, before he takes out two bad guys, brutalising them with “nunchaku brutality, relentless, face-slapping, circle-swinging motions”. He shouldn’t have killed his dog.

John Wick: Chapter 4 closes everything

While it’s expected that the John Wick saga will continue after the upcoming fourth instalment, Stahelski revealed that they prefer to approach each film in sequence without overthinking what comes next. “We go chapter by chapter,” he explained. “Like a writer; we write the chapter, scratch our heads, write the next chapter”.

Stahelski even suggested that John Wick: Chapter 4 will be a kind of closure. At least for now. “I think Chapter 4 is a good continuation of all three of the previous films and it’s a kind of closure, which is great,” the filmmaker and former stuntman previously said. “We’re introducing a lot of new characters who have a lot to say about John Wick’s past and obviously the present. I think that’s the brotherhood, that’s the hope. What life would really be like as a bit of an existential crisis with John, and I think that’s the fun part of the film.”

John Wick: Chapter 4, directed by Chad Stahelski, sees Keanu Reeves reprise the title role alongside Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane and Lance Reddick. The action sequel also stars Donnie Yen, Shamier Anderson, Rina Sawayama, Bill Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada, Scott Adkins and Clancy Brown.

John Wick: Chapter 4, distributed by Lionsgate, will be released in the US on 24 March 2023.