John Wick 4: Laurence Fishburne confirms return as The Bowery King

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

With production on John Wick: Chapter 4 set to kick off this summer on location in France, Germany, and Japan, we've seen a handful of new faces added to the franchise, but there will be a few familiar faces as well. While speaking with Collider, Laurence Fishburne confirmed that he'll be returning for John Wick 4 to reprise his role of The Bowery King. The character first appeared in John Wick: Chapter 2 and went on to appear in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum as well.

"I should be going to Berlin within another couple of months or so," Fishburne told Collider. While the actor wasn't about to spill any details on the upcoming sequel, he did say that the script is "really, really cool" as it goes much deeper than the prior films. "It's much deeper in terms of the code of the assassin and the relationship that he has with one character in particular who I think Mr. Watanabe is playing… is really the heart and soul of it," Fishburne teased. Collider noted that the Mr. Watanabe mentioned by the actor isn't a new addition to the cast, but rather the name of one of the character's in the sequel.

In addition to Keanu Reeves, the cast of John Wick: Chapter 4 also includes Stowaway's Shamier Anderson, Japanese-British pop superstar Rina Sawayama, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story's Donnie Yen. The only information about these new characters has to do with Yen, who is said to be playing an old friend of John Wick who "shares his same history and many of the same enemies." Perhaps he's Mr. Watanabe? Bill Skarsgård is also said to be in talks for a role in the film. Laurence Fishburne will next be seen starring alongside Liam Neeson in The Ice Road, an action thriller that will be released on Netflix on June 25th.