Keanu Reeves Had One Final Request After John Wick 4 Destroyed Him
Judging the fate of his titular character in "John Wick: Chapter 4," it appears that Keanu Reeves had enough of playing the ultimate hitman when the seemingly last film of the series was released in March 2023.
In an interview with Collider, "John Wick" franchise producer Basil Iwanyk said Reeves had one very specific request for doing the fourth film — a killer of a plot turn that assured Wick wouldn't be back for a fifth.
"After the second, third, and fourth movie, making these films is so exhausting, and it destroys Keanu, physically and emotionally," Iwanyk said. "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.'"
Reeves got his wish. John dies following a duel where Wick faces Caine (Donnie Yen) and the High Table power player Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård). A visit to Wick's grave by his allies Winston (Ian McShane) and The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) in the next scene solidifies the fact that Reeves' ass-kicking antihero was dead and gone.
Or did it? "We were like, 'You know, we'll leave a 10% little opening,'" Iwanyk told Collider.
That 10% will surely go a long way for fans asking the burning question: "Could John Wick still be alive at the end of Chapter 4'?"
Reeves has previously left some wiggle room for the return of John Wick
Before fans found out about John Wick's "death," Keanu Reeves addressed the possibility of "John Wick: Chapter 5" a few months prior to the release of "John Wick: Chapter 4."
Not committing to a definitive answer, Reeves told Total Film that he was taking a "wait and see" approach regarding the franchise's future. "You have to see how the audience responds to what we did," Reeves told the publication. "The only reason we've had a chance to make these movies is that people have liked what we have done. So, I think we have to wait and see how the audience responds to it. Hopefully, they'll like it."
If the final worldwide box office tally for "John Wick: Chapter 4" — $426.5 million against a $100 million budget — is any indication, audiences did like the film. As such, don't be surprised if Lionsgate is trying to persuade Reeves to come back from the dead for another turn as Wick.
At the very least, fans will likely see the Baba Yaga one more time. Reeves will reprise Wick for the spinoff movie, "Ballerina," which stars Ana de Armas. Reeves previously unveiled the "Ballerina" timeline, revealing it's set between "John Wick: Chapter 3" and "John Wick: Chapter 4." Since John is alive and well during that period, an appearance makes complete sense. However, it's unknown how significant of a role he has.