‘John Wick’ Franchise Director Chad Stahelski On Permanently Retiring Keanu Reeves’ Hitman & Why Academy Must Add Stunts To Oscars Categories

Mel Gibson and Colin Woodell lead the cast for the three-part prequel series, , which will premiere in September on Peacock, it was announced Wednesday. The upcoming series explores the origins behind the hotel for assassins at the center of the franchise and is told through the eyes of young Winston Scott (Woodell) as he's dragged into the hell-scape of 1970s New York City to face a past he thought he left behind. Winston charts a deadly course through the hotel's mysterious underworld in a harrowing attempt to seize the hotel where he will eventually take his future throne.Woodell plays a younger version of the character portrayed by Ian McShane in the  movies, and he's not the only cast member taking on a familiar role to fans of the franchise.

It’s undeniable that Keanu Reeves, director Chad Stahelski and screenwriter/creator Derek Kolstad have put together one hell of a crowd-pleasing action franchise with the quadrilogy of “John Wick” films that keep turning out to be financial successes for Lionsgate. As the prospect of “John Wick 5” is less clear despite the strong box office returns of the recent installment, they are going to keep fans happy with a handful of spinoffs on the way, including the series prequel “The Continental” that is expected to debut this September and a feature film starring Ana de Armas as Rooney, an assassin/ballerina from Wick’s criminal syndicate (The Ruska Roma) looking for revenge after hitmen kill her family.

Lionsgate has officially slotted the first official “John Wick” spin-off. Thunder Road Films and 87eleven’s “Ballerina,” starring Ana de Armas and Gabriel Bryne, and with appearances from franchise mainstays Anjelica Houston, Lance Reddick, Keanu Reeves and Ian McShane, will open theatrically on June 7, 2024.

Lionsgate’s John Wick spinoff The Ballerina will be hitting theaters on June 7, 2024.

“John Wick: Chapter 4” is here. And it is blowing everybody away, as is evidenced by its bone-crunching, franchise-best $70 million+ opening weekend.There’s a reason for its oversized success; in the fourth entry of the franchise that follows disaffected assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) as he traverses a vast network of underworld weirdos with mythological overtones, the movie takes on a grander, more elegant expanse.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Keanu Reeves lovingly wanted all of the “John Wick: Chapter 4” stuntmen to remember just how many times they died during the making of the blockbuster action movie. A new report from The New York Times about the making of the sequel’s unforgettable action scenes includes a detail about Reeves gifting the film’s stunt crew with t-shirts that had the number of deaths each stunt person faced in the movie. For some of the stunt crew, that number was above 20. Why so many death scenes per one stunt person? It’s because “John Wick: Chapter 4” re-used stunt workers in multiple scenes. For the instant classic staircase fight, in which Reeves’ John Wick fights bad guys as he races up the 222 steps leading to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica (only to be pushed back down to the bottom and have to do it all over again), the production used 35 stunt workers, many of whom had repeated deaths in the scene.

John Wick: Chapter 4 has an alternate ending that made test screening audiences “revolt”.According to the film’s director, Chad Stahelski, test screenings got “a little sketchy” as an alternate ending left audiences unhappy. Revealing that the hit action film’s cinema cut has another ending, Stahelski told The Hollywood Reporter that the reaction from these test runs made an important decision on the theatrical cut for him.“It was a little sketchy during test screenings.

Keanu Reeves reprised his role of John Wick in John Wick: Chapter 4 but don’t expect the star to say a lot. A report from The Wall Street Journal counted all the words Wick uttered throughout the film and he seemingly didn’t have a lot to say, but there was a whole lot to see.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director John Wick is a man of few words. No really. A report from The Wall Street Journal reveals that Keanu Reeves’ eponymous assassin says only 380 words across 103 lines of dialogue during “John Wick: Chapter 4,” which runs nearly three-hours long with its 169 minute runtime. Nearly a third of Reeves’ dialogue in the sequel consists of just one single word. As reported by Wall Street Journal: “In the first installment, clocking in at 101 minutes, Mr. Reeves said a total of 484 words. With a run time of 169 minutes, the fourth movie pushes three hours but features just 380 words by Wick. About 10% of them are featured in the movie’s trailer, which makes the hero seem almost chatty; Wick says more in that 2.5 minute clip than he does in the first 25 minutes of the movie itself.”

Joe Drake told Deadline after the stellar result.His optimistic remarks come despite a clear-cut ending for the title character in the fourth film.“There’s a lot of different things that we can do,” Drake said. “I’ve seen this movie five times in the last week.”Drake and Lionsgate were surely moved by the franchise-record box office take of $137.5 million worldwide ($73 million domestic) its first weekend, and its 95% score on RottenTomatoes — another high.The Post awarded “John Wick: Chapter 4” 3.5 stars, calling it “100-miles-an-hour” and “a beautiful sight to behold.”In the film, assassin Wick darts around the world — New York, Berlin, Paris, Osaka — piling up bodies to finally free himself from the chains of the powerful crime syndicate the High Table.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Joe Drake had much to celebrate this morning as the studio reaped a record global and domestic box office debut for the John Wick franchise with John Wick: Chapter 4 making $137.5M WW and $73.5M. The fourthquel was the best received John Wick of all-time with audiences (A CinemaScore) and critics (95% certified fresh). The movie is arguably the second best global opening for Reeves after The Matrix Revolution’s $201.4M.

Keanu Reeves has explained the emotional ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 alongside director Chad Stahelski.*Spoilers below*The conclusion to the fourth outing of the action series proved to be a shock for fans. Despite the film’s titular character winning his climactic duel against Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgard), he sustains a seemingly fatal gunshot wound. After uttering the name of his late wife, Helen, (who died in the opening of the first John Wick film), he appears to die.

Rina Sawayama has made her feature acting debut as Akira in John Wick: Chapter 4.Directed by Chad Stahelski, the sequel is the longest and arguably most ambitious entry in the franchise yet – with bigger action sequences and an expanded cast.Speaking to NME, Stahelski explained that he contacted Sawayama after seeing her music videos. “I knew very little about her beforehand,” the director said.

The “John Wick” franchise has a reputation for razzle-dazzle filmmaking and serving as demo reels for some of the world’s finest – or at least most promising – action movie stars. “John Wick: Chapter 4” is no exception, with Donnie Yen taking center stage alongside franchise star Keanu Reeves, as Hiroyuki Sanada and Marko Zaror lend prestige and support.

had Keanu Reeves gallop on a horse through Brooklyn? Four tremendous films and nine years into the adrenaline-fueled, Reeves-led action series, director Chad Stahelski has yet to let his franchise noticeably dip in quality. “Wick” wields an assured identity and fireworks style with the same confidence of its main character carrying a deadly pistol.

John Wick: Chapter 4 was influenced by the cult classic The Warriors, according to director Chad Stahelski.The film has already been hailed as one of the greatest action films of all time by critics, and has been a smash hit with fans to boot. Now, the creative force behind Keanu Reeves has been discussing some of the influences that helped to make the movie.Sitting down to talk with CBR.com recently, Stahelski said that films like Walter Hill’s 1979 movie The Warriors helped to influence the fourth Wick film. “In my teenage years, I saw The Warriors.

Keanu Reeves is reflecting on the life and legacy of his friend and co-star Lance Reddick, following the actor's untimely death.Reeves walked the red carpet at the premiere of , held at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood on Monday, where everyone wore blue ribbon pins in Reddick's memory, and his name was displayed first and upfront on the marquee.Reeves spoke with ET's Nischelle Turner about Reddick — who appeared in all four films in the franchise as hotel concierge Charon — and was also slated to appear in the upcoming spinoff film, «Lance is a very beautiful person and special artist,» an emotional Reeves shared of his late colleague. «His grace and dignity, his shining light of character was just something really special.»Reddick's rep confirmed the news of his death to ET on Mar. 17, stating that he «passed away suddenly this morning from natural causes.» He was 60.Looking at his time with Reddick, Reeves shared, "[I am] really grateful I had the chance to know him and work with him over almost 10 years.«The moving words echoes Reeves' tribute, which he shared shortly after news of Reddick's death first broke, alongside director Chad Stahelski.»We are deeply saddened and heartbroken at the loss of our beloved friend and colleague Lance Reddick," the pair said in their statement.

Hollywood is mourning the loss of the late Lance Reddick.

"John Wick: Chapter Four" star Keanu Reeves; the film's director, Chad Stahelski; and more Hollywood stars are mourning the unexpected death of actor Lance Reddick. Reddick, who starred in "The Wire," "Fringe" and the "John Wick" franchise, died Friday. He was 60.

Keanu Reeves is paying tribute to his late friend and co-star, Lance Reddick.The actor released a statement with director Chad Stahelski on Friday following the news of Reddick's death. Reddick appeared in all four films of the franchise as hotel concierge Charon — and was also slated to appear in the upcoming spinoff film, .«We are deeply saddened and heartbroken at the loss of our beloved friend and colleague Lance Reddick,» the pair said in their statement. «He was the consummate professional and a joy to work with.