John Wick: Chapter 4 felt like the titular assassin’s last song. After finally defeating the High Table, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) took what appeared to be his dying breath on the steps of the Sacre Coeur in Paris. And, according to Basil Iwanyk, the producer of the franchise, it is exactly how Reeves wanted it.
After these films, Reeves feels worn out even though everyone can see how committed he was to the stunt work and his acting. Iwanyk admitted that Reeves was pleading for Wick to be “definitively” killed off at the end of the movie so that he could finally rest by the time Chapter 4 was in the development stage. Iwanyk stated to Collider’s Christina Radish that since it’s a movie and John Wick is a legend, they chose to settle for 90% while on the press tour for the next Wick spin-off, The Continental.
“After the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th movie, making these films is so exhausting and it destroys Keanu, physically and emotionally,” explained Iwanyk. “By the end, he’s always like, ‘I can’t do this again,’ and we agree with him. The guy is just a shell of himself because he just goes off and goes for it. He was like, ‘I wanna be definitively killed at the end of this movie.’ We were like, ‘You know, we’ll leave a 10% little opening.'”
John, Paul, and Ringo
Iwaynk went on to explain that the close bond the producers and the filmmakers had forged over the years in making the franchise meant that, as much as one party may need a break from the action, they were all reluctant to do so, for fear of missing out on the next installment. Comparing Stahelski and Reeves to The Beatles, Iwanyk said he was content to sit and wait until that next flash of inspiration hits the creative duo and then they can get back to work.
“We’ve all become such good friends and we all like each other so much and we’re all so tickled by the success of these movies, critically and commercially that we all think to ourselves, ‘Okay, how do we get the band back together, in a way that merits a good story in the next evolution of John.’ At this point, it’s Keanu and Chad [Stahelski] getting together to figure out what that story is. The way I describe it is that they’re like Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and I’m Ringo. They’ll call me and let me know, ‘All right, we’re showing up. Here’s where you show up, and here’s what our story is.'”
Iwanyk acknowledged that he didn’t want to say goodbye to Wick just yet, but said he was willing to wait until the dynamic combination was prepared once more, after which it would be full-steam ahead. if they are unable to think of another reason? Everyone can relax with satisfaction after their accomplishments.
“We Want Another Wick”
“We all want another John Wick. We don’t know what it looks like and when it will happen, but we love each other and we love this world,” he continued. “It’s gonna be all hands to try to figure it out. Have we figured it out? No. And if we can’t figure it out, will there be one? No, of course not. No one is gonna try to just jam it for the sake of jamming it.”
The Continental premieres on Peacock on September 22.
