John Wick 4 director says he shot a much less ambiguous ending
Warning: This article contains spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4.
This year's action hit John Wick: Chapter 4 seemed to conclude in a decisively fatal fashion for Keanu Reeves' titular anti-hero.
At the end of the film, Reeves' Wick sacrifices himself in a Paris-set gun duel with his old friend Caine, played by Donnie Yen. Instead of using his last bullet to kill his buddy, a badly-wounded Wick instead murders Bill Skarsgård's villainous Marquis Vincent de Gramont. Wick then receives a vision of his dead wife, Bridget Moynihan's Helen, and perishes on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur. We subsequently see Ian McShane's Winston and Laurence Fishburne's Bowery King visit John Wick's grave, seemingly making the hitman's demise canonical.
Murray Close/Lionsgate Keanu Reeves in 'John Wick: Chapter 4'
In a new interview with Empire, however, franchise director Chad Stahelski revealed that fans nearly saw a much different conclusion to the franchise's fourth installment, one in which Wick survived his epic ordeal.
"We had a different ending," says the filmmaker. "[The theatrical ending] was the ending Keanu and I wanted, but we shot a different ending. We shot an ending where you actually saw John Wick at the end of the movie. So it was very clear that he was still alive. The audiences we tested with absolutely preferred the ambiguous ending."
Reeves has previously suggested that Wick might not be as deceased as the released film's ending suggests. When EW asked the actor around the time of the film's release if Reeves could imagine reviving the character, he replied, "I don't know, I guess I'm going to have to lean on never say never. I mean, I wouldn't do a John Wick film without Chad Stahelski. We'd have to see what that looked like. For me, it feels really right that John Wick finds peace."
Stahelski also hinted at the possibility that John Wick might not have died in the film.
"Let's just say John Wick has found a way to be at peace," Stahelski told EW. "What's the only way John could have gotten out? He's got to make everyone think he's dead, or he has to be dead, or he has to kill off a part of his persona. However you want to take that, that's cool with us. But it feels satisfying to me, at least, and to Keanu. We've come full circle, and that feels like a satisfying ending. How you interpret it, I'll leave it to you guys."
Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.
Related content:
John Wick 4 director says Lance Reddick was always 'willing to do what's best' for franchise
Keanu Reeves and John Wick 4 director Chad Stahelski dedicate film to the late Lance Reddick
John Wick: Chapter 4 director talks post-credits scene: 'I'd love to see those characters again'
John Wick 4 director on shooting Arc de Triomphe scene: 'That's a nice stress attack'
