MOVIE NEWS – Director Chad Stahelski has revealed that John Wick: Chapter 4 almost had a very different ending, which would have opened the door for Chapter 5.

John Wick: Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski has revealed that the film almost had a very different ending to the one that eventually opened the door to the new world of theatrical release. And that ending would have clarified that there would be a fifth part. After three previous successful films, Keanu Reeves’ titular assassin returned earlier this year for the biggest and most daring instalment in the franchise to date. Although Wick is punished significantly during his four incredibly bloody adventures, the fourth act concludes with the character’s death. Although it’s a little vaguely presented.

Now, in a recent interview with Empire, Stahelski revealed that the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 was hardly ambiguous at all as to whether Wick lives or dies.

“We had a different ending. [The theatrical ending] was the ending Keanu and I wanted, but we shot a different ending. We shot an ending where you actually saw John Wick at the end of the movie. So it was very clear that he was still alive. The audiences we tested with absolutely preferred the ambiguous ending.”

What does Stahelski’s comment mean for John Wick 5?

So it can be seen that the audience preferred the ambiguous ending. But the fact that another ending was filmed in which Wick survives suggests that there was once a clearer path to a fifth film. After the critical and commercial success of the fourth film, Lionsgate is looking to make John Wick 5 a reality. However, Stahelski and Reeves gave more mixed responses about the return.

Apparently, for both Reeves and Stahelski, the latest sequel was an opportunity to surpass everything they had done before and give Reeves’ character a more definitive ending.

However, the revelation that there is an ending in which Wick survives suggests that perhaps neither of them were 100% sure that Chapter 4 would be the end of the road. If the test audience had preferred a happier ending, it may have been the ending that would have made it into the film’s theatrical version. It would have made the jump to a sequel less difficult.

Stahelski and Reeves have clearly stated that John Wick, the assassin is dead. But it has been suggested that John, the man, might not. So a fifth instalment would have the difficult task of essentially reinventing the franchise around this development. Ultimately, it is the 4th act’s cinematic ending that matters. But the reveal of this alternate ending does increase the chances that Stahelski and Reeves will return for the fifth film.

Source: Empire