It might come as a surprise to many fans, but John Wick: Chapter 4 wasn’t originally going to end the way it did. The movie’s director, Chad Stahelski, recently revealed that test audiences denied the initial version of the finale, which would have made John Wick’s (Keanu Reeves) ultimate fate much clearer.
During an interview with Empire, Stahelski said, "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."
In the past as well, Stahelski shared his preference when it came to leaving the current status of John Wick open-ended. During an interview sometime after the release of John Wick: Chapter 4, the movie’s director also declined to neither confirm nor deny if Wick had survived his deadly wounds.
He simply said, "Whether you think John -- or John Wick -- is dead, that's your interpretation. These movies are supposed to be mythological fables, and there are consequences. When you do bad things, bad things happen."
Chad Stahelski Speaks On John Wick 5
The John Wick franchise distributor, Lionsgate, is eager to inform fans that Chapter 4 won’t be the last time people will see the assassin on screens. Joe Drake, the chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, also assured fans that John Wick: Chapter 5 is officially in development, along with the spinoff movie Ballerina and the series, The Continental.
However, nobody has yet confirmed that Keanu Reeves will continue to play the role of John Wick, leaving an open door for the franchise to go with another protagonist. But John Wick without Keanu Reeves? Who would even watch it? Aside from this, Stahelski also recently spoke on John Wick 5, indicating that he hasn’t signed on for the sequel.
Stahelski said, "I honestly don't know [about John Wick 5 ]. Lionsgate is keen on doing more John Wick stuff, understandably. It's not a bad thing for a director to have a property that they want to make more of. I don't have a take right now. But I could wake up tomorrow and have a cool idea that I'd pitch to Keanu, or he would pitch to me, and it might hit that chord of, 'Oh my God, we got to do this right now.'"
However, John Wick: Chapter 4 is available on VOD, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD. So, let’s worry about Chapter 5 once we get over this one, which might not be anytime soon!
