Keanu Reeves begged for a definite end for his character in John Wick: Chapter 4

Last Updated on September 27, 2023

John Wick: Chapter 4 may have been presented somewhat as the conclusion of the story, but it’s also the entry that put the franchise in the billion-dollar club. Lionsgate is now jumping at the chance to do more Wick sequels with the series’ star Keanu Reeves continuing the role. This is despite the ending of the film having what can be interpreted as the death of John Wick. However, the door is cracked open for an opportunity to bring Keanu back with an easy explanation should The Matrix star and the filmmakers choose to come back for more knuckles, kicks and bullets.

Basil Iwanyk, a producer on the franchise, reveals that Reeves was begging for there to be a definite conclusion to his character so that he may finally rest (which would also serve as a double meaning for Keanu doing his own stunts for four movies). Iwanyk spoke with Collider to promote the upcoming Wick prequel series, The Continental, when he said, “After the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th movie, making these films is so exhausting and it destroys Keanu, physically and emotionally. 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.’ We were like, ‘You know, we’ll leave a 10% little opening.'”

Fans will be able to see Keanu back in the role sooner than expected, as he’s set to make a cameo appearance along with the late Lance Reddick in the coming spin-off of the Wick films, Ballerina. In Ballerina, Ana De Armas plays a character who gets caught up in the underground world with Continental assassins and Reeves is set to appear since the story takes place before John Wick: Chapter 4.

Although Ballerina is on the horizon, The Continental is set to premiere, and there is talk of a spin-off with Donnie Yen’s character, Iwanyk says people still want more John Wick, “We all want another John Wick. We don’t know what it looks like and when it will happen, but we love each other and we love this world. It’s gonna be all hands to try to figure it out. Have we figured it out? No. And if we can’t figure it out, will there be one? No, of course not. No one is gonna try to just jam it for the sake of jamming it.”

The Continental is set to stream on Peacock on September 22.