Yahoo Movies Guns! Swords! Ice baths! How Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski created the action epic John Wick: Chapter 4
The first John Wick (2014) was a relatively low budget, New York-set tale which found Keanu Reeves' retired hitman seeking, and securing, retribution for the killing of his dog in around 100 minutes of screen time. Nine years on, John Wick: Chapter 4 is a much different beast. Directed once again by franchise filmmaker Chad Stahelski, this fourth installment in the action series is a globe-trotting spectacular, boasting a seemingly endless parade of jaw-dropping action sequences, and a running time of just under three hours.
All of which begs a couple of questions. Why did Stahelski believe this latest entry required such a vast canvas? And at what point during the shoot did he regret his decision to make John Wick 4: Chapter 4 quite such an epic venture?
"I'm a huge David Lean fan," says Stahelski of the legendary British filmmaker. "One of the most inspiring films I've ever seen is Lawrence of Arabia. If you want to use the word 'epic' that's epic. That was our mantra: David Lean. We tried to scale it up. Also, Keanu made it very clear, if we're doing this, we're doing something for the big screen. With that first punch, we want to shake your chest. That was always the intention."
Lionsgate Keanu Reeves in 'John Wick 4'
As for regrets during the shoot, Stahelski admits he had a few.
"I was like, oh my God, what am I doing to myself?" he says with a chuckle. "We did a hundred nights. You'd wake up at three in the afternoon and go, maybe we should have done the other version, maybe it should have been a character study. But, then, you'd go home, and hopefully you've got those one or two shots where you know you have something special and that's what keeps you going."
Stahelski and Reeves started talking about the plot for the film while publicizing 2019's John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum, which proved the most successful of the franchise up to that point, with a worldwide gross of $327 million.
"During the press tour for Chapter 3, we started to think about, if the audience likes it, and we get the chance, what would that movie be?" says Reeves. "What would the story be?"
Lionsgate Bill Skarsgård in 'John Wick: Chapter 4'
The answer cooked up by the pair finds Reeves' hitman trying to secure his freedom from the criminal world, and the machinations of the High Table, the mysterious organization which effectively rules the John Wick universe. In John Wick: Chapter 4, which is written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch, the man in charge of the High Table is Marquis Vincent de Gramont. That, mostly non-combative, part is played by It and Barbarian star Bill Skarsgård who, Stahelski reveals, essentially cast himself in the part.
"My former partner Dave Leitch, he used Bill on Atomic Blonde and during that process I got to meet him, and I really liked him, and I loved his work," says Stahelski. "Every time I [saw him in a film], I was just amazed about how he can morph his body and says a lot with non-verbal acting. I thought that was fascinating and that kind of fits with our world. I called Bill, I said, 'Hey, I'm doing another John Wick, maybe there's a part in it for you, If we'll send you the rough script, and see if there's anything you like.' I didn't say a word about which role. There was one I was thinking about, it was an older script with a character we no longer have, thinking, oh, he'll just go for that one. It was a bit of an action role. He calls me back and he's like, 'I'd love to play the Marquis.' I'm like, 'No, Bill, that's the bad guy. You don't want the bad guy.' He's like, 'No, no, that's the fun role! This is the delicious role!' I'm like, 'Oh, right on!'" [Laughs]
"I thought what he did, with the role, with the Marquis, was so special and fantastic," says Reeves. "The accent, the demeanor, I was like, bravo, sir! It was amazing."
John Wick: Chapter 4 introduces an array of other new characters, played by, among others, Shamier Anderson, Clancy Brown, Marko Zaror, and action movie stalwart Scott Adkins, who is almost unrecognizable playing a character called Killa while wearing a fat suit.
"He's the head of the German Table, and at one point he was a fierce assassin in his own right, but he's let himself go a little bit," says Adkins. "He's not as swift as he may once have been but, when push comes to shove, he still knows how to bring it."
Lionsgate Donnie Yen in 'John Wick: Chapter 4'
Another action film veteran, Ip Man and Rogue One actor Donnie Yen, plays a blind assassin, and an old friend of Wick's, named Caine.
"He's obviously a legend in action movies and he's such a fantastic actor and artist," says Reeves of Yen. "I really appreciated how he created the character of Caine and connected it to how he did action. It was almost character first, and then the action was an expression of character, which is a perspective that Chad and I share."
Lionsgate Rina Sawayama in 'John Wick: Chapter 4'
One of the film's early action set-pieces is set in the Osaka branch of the criminal fraternity-welcoming Continental hotel chain. The establishment is run by two more new characters: Shimazu Koji, who is played by Hiroyuki Sanada, and his daughter Akira, portrayed by British pop star Rina Sawayama.
"She was great," says Reeves of the singer, who is making her film debut in John Wick: Chapter 4. "I think she's amazing in the film, and she came to John Wick training camp, and just threw herself into it, was so enthusiastic. She has a dance background, so she was really great with moving through space, and it was really great to see how she excelled, and also brought her character a flavor [to] how she fought. It was great."
John Wick: Chapter 4 also sees the return of franchise veterans Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, and the late Lance Reddick, who reprises his role of the New York Continental's concierge Charon.
"I love Lance," says Stahelski, speaking to EW last Friday, just hours before news broke of Reddick's death at 60. "Lance has been a big part of our crew since the very beginning. Lance has made every one of these better because of his presence."
Lionsgate Lance Reddick in 'John Wick 4'
Asked to nominate the toughest scene to shoot, Reeves names a fight sequence at the Osaka Continental which finds Wick facing off against a small army of assailants.
"It was very intense," he says. "It was a lot of movement, throws, transitions. It really brought everything together, all of the judo, jiu-jitsu, the gun work, add a wakizashi sword, enter the nunchucks. It was just really intense and long. You know, doing that sequence 10 hours a day, fighting 10 hours a day, was thrilling but challenging. But I love the challenges."
Reeves reveals that he also loved ending shoot days with an ice bath.
"I worked with a really cool Australian company called iCool and they have a cold plunge tub that I used on previous John Wick films," he says. "So I had one near the training dojo."
Kayla Oaddams/WireImage 'John Wick: Chapter 4' director Chad Stahelski
Was the finished film worth all this effort? It seems so. John Wick: Chapter 4 has been welcomed positively by critics and audiences, including cinemagoers at this year's SXSW in Austin where Stahelski and Reeves were on hand to witness the reception.
"Chad and I love these movies, I love the character, love the world," says Reeves. "We really did try and make an epic feast for people. The folks in Austin enjoyed the meal we prepared and that was very special for us."
As for the possibility of starring in a John Wick: Chapter 5, Reeves insists he simply doesn't know.
"For me, I wouldn't do a John Wick film without Chad Stahelski, so we'd have to see what that looked like," he says. "I guess I'm going to have to lean on never say never."
John Wick: Chapter 4 is released March 24.
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