John Wick: Chapter 4


John Wick: Chapter 4 is a 2023 American neo-noir action thriller film, directed and co-produced by Chad Stahelski and written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch. It is the fourth installment in the John Wick film series, and the sequel to John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Keanu Reeves returns as the titular John Wick, who sets out for revenge on the High Table and those who left him for dead. Chapter 4 also features Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, Clancy Brown, and Ian McShane.
Development of the fourth John Wick film, formally announced by Lionsgate in May 2019, was confirmed before the release of its predecessor. It is the first film in the franchise that was not written by franchise creator Derek Kolstad; Hatten was hired in May 2020, then Finch in March 2021. Principal photography took place from June to October 2021 in France, Germany, New York City, and Japan.
The film's planned 2021 release was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. John Wick: Chapter 4 premiered at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London on March 6, 2023, and was released in the United States on March 24. The film received critical acclaim from critics, who praised its action sequences, Stahelski's direction, cinematography, choreography, visual style, writing, score, and performances. It earned $447.3 million worldwide, on a $100 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film in the franchise. A spin-off set between the third and fourth films, titled Ballerina, was released in 2025. Though Chapter 4 was initially intended to be the conclusion of the series, a sequel is in development.

Plot

In New York City, John Wick, hiding underground with the Bowery King, recovers after being shot off the roof of the Continental Hotel by Winston. Seeking to exact vengeance against the High Table, he travels to Morocco and kills the Elder, the "one who sits above the Table". In response, the High Table sends the Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont with unlimited resources to kill John.
In New York, the Marquis summons Winston and his concierge Charon, and chastises Winston for previously failing to kill John. As punishment, the Marquis strips Winston of his managerial duties, declares him "excommunicado", destroys the New York Continental, and executes Charon. The Marquis then enlists John's old friend, Caine – a blind, retired High Table assassin – to kill him, forcing Caine to comply by threatening to murder his daughter.
John seeks refuge at the Osaka Continental, operated by his friend Shimazu Koji. Caine and Chidi, the Marquis' second-in-command, arrive with High Table enforcers to investigate. Koji's daughter, Akira, evacuates the hotel before the High Table "deconsecrates" it, instigating a melee. John battles many armored personnel, culminating in a showdown with Caine. A "Tracker" named Mr. Nobody interrupts their fight, letting John escape after deeming the bounty on him insufficient. A wounded Koji attacks Caine on John's behalf until Caine reluctantly kills him, but spares Akira.
John returns to New York and meets a vengeful Winston at Charon's gravesite. Winston suggests invoking an old High Table tradition to challenge the Marquis to a duel. Winning would free John from obligations to the High Table, but he can only request a duel on behalf of a crime family. John travels to the Berlin headquarters of the Ruska Roma crime syndicate to seek readmission. His adoptive sister, Katia, requires that he kill Killa Harkan, a High Table member the Marquis paid to murder her father. Killa ambushes John at his nightclub, but with help from Caine and Mr. Nobody, John kills him and regains his status. Winston conveys John's challenge to the Marquis, acting as his "second". Winston requests that, if John wins, Winston's own "excommunicado" will be revoked, and he will be reinstated as manager of a New York Continental rebuilt by the High Table. However, if John loses, Winston would also die.
In Paris, John and the Marquis finalize the duel's terms – dueling pistols at sunrise at Sacré-Cœur – under the Harbinger's moderation. The Marquis chooses a reluctant Caine to duel John as his proxy, while the Harbinger warns that John and Winston will be executed if either is late. The Bowery King arrives in Paris to give John a pistol and a ballistic suit. The Marquis sets a $40 million bounty on John to delay him. John fights off numerous assassins, unknowingly helped by Mr. Nobody, who forces the Marquis to increase the bounty so he can claim it for himself. However, Mr. Nobody ultimately ceases his pursuit when John saves Mr. Nobody's dog from Chidi.
After Caine, Mr. Nobody, and Mr. Nobody's dog assist John in fighting off dozens of assassins – including Chidi, whom Mr. Nobody kills – on the Rue Foyatier, they reach the summit on time. John and Caine wound each other through two rounds of dueling, and the third round comes to a halt when Caine seriously wounds John. Demanding the right to administer the coup de grâce, the Marquis eagerly swaps places with Caine. Winston chides the Marquis for his arrogance, revealing that John had not fired his third bullet. John promptly executes the Marquis with a headshot, ending the duel. The Harbinger grants John and Caine their freedom from the High Table and reinstates Winston as the Hotel Manager of the New York Continental. John reflects upon his life and marriage before collapsing from his injuries. Sometime later, back in New York, Winston and the Bowery King bid farewell to John at a gravestone with his name, located next to one for his wife Helen.
In a post-credits scene, Caine returns to Paris to reunite with his daughter, but is approached by a vengeful, knife-wielding Akira.

Cast

  • Keanu Reeves as John Wick, a professional hitman and assassin who has gained a legendary reputation for his set of skills and is now hunted by the High Table.
  • Donnie Yen as Caine, a blind High Table assassin and an old friend of Wick, who is forced out of retirement to kill Wick to ensure the safety of his daughter.
  • Bill Skarsgård as the Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont, a powerful member of the High Table whose position is challenged by Wick.
  • Laurence Fishburne as the Bowery King, a former underground crime boss who was left for dead by the High Table and is now sponsoring Wick.
  • Hiroyuki Sanada as Shimazu Koji, the manager of the Osaka Continental Hotel and an old friend of Wick and Caine.
  • Shamier Anderson as Mr. Nobody / The Tracker, a bounty hunter pursuing Wick.
  • Lance Reddick as Charon, the concierge at the Continental Hotel in New York.
  • Rina Sawayama as Shimazu Akira, Koji's daughter and concierge of the Osaka Continental.
  • Marko Zaror as Chidi, the second-in-command of the Marquis de Gramont.
  • Scott Adkins as Killa Harkan, the head of the German Table.
  • Clancy Brown as the Harbinger, a high-ranking operative of the High Table.
  • Ian McShane as Winston Scott, the manager of the New York Continental Hotel and friend of Wick.
  • Aimée Kwan, a British actress of Thai and Malaysian descent, portrays Mia, Caine's violin-playing daughter.
  • Natalia Tena portrays Katia Javanavič, Wick's adoptive sister.
  • George Georgiou appears as the Elder, "the one who sits above the Table", a different character than the one played by Saïd Taghmaoui in Parabellum.
  • Bridget Moynahan appears as Wick's late wife, Helen, via archive footage from the first film.
  • Sven Marquardt, an infamous German bouncer, appears as a Ruska Roma member named Klaus.
  • German actor and YouTube personality Andrej Kaminsky also appears as the Ruska Roma's priest.
  • Retired sumo wrestlers Yoshinori Tashiro and Hishofuji Hiroki made appearances as the Osaka Continental gatekeepers.

    Production

Development

On May 20, 2019, Lionsgate announced John Wick: Chapter 4 via their opt-in "John Wick" text update service, writing, "You have served. You will be of service. John Wick: Chapter 4 is coming – May 21, 2021". In early August 2020, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer stated during an earnings call, "We're also busy preparing scripts for the next two installments of our John Wick action franchise, with John Wick 4 slated to hit theatres Memorial Day weekend 2022. We hope to shoot both John Wick 4 and 5 back to back when Keanu becomes available early next year."
Before the third film's release, director Chad Stahelski confirmed on a Reddit "AMA" thread that there had been discussion for another film, and that he would be involved with the project should the third film be successful. Despite this announcement back then, it was not confirmed if star Keanu Reeves would return for a new installment. However, he told GQ that he would carry on the role as long as the audience wanted it, saying, "As far as my legs can take me, as far as the audience wants to go."
Stahelski later teased the fourth film in an interview with IndieWire by saying Wick would not end the fourth film with "a happy ending", saying, "John may survive all this shit but at the end of it, there's no happy ending. He's got nowhere to go. Honestly, I challenge you right now, here's a question for you: How do you fucking want me to end it? Do you think he's going to ride off into the fucking sunset? He's killed 300 fucking people and he's just going to , everything's okay? He's just going to fall in love with a love interest? If you're this fucking guy, if this guy exist, how is this guy's day going to end? He's fucked for the rest of his life. It's just a matter of time." Additionally, Stahelski teased Winston's fate in the fourth film, saying, "He meant to shoot him. Did he mean to kill him? That's open for interpretation, you can take it one of two ways, and that's kind of where we pick up some of the unanswered questions in John Wick 4." The studio opted to move on from series creator Derek Kolstad and instead hired Shay Hatten to write the script in May 2020. In February, Stahelski brought Ricky Staub and Dan Walser on board to write the film after being impressed with their film Concrete Cowboy. In March 2021, screenwriting duties were passed onto Predators screenwriter Michael Finch.