Keanu Reeves explains powerful ending of John Wick: Chapter 4
Warning! In case it wasn't obvious, this article contains major John Wick: Chapter 4 spoilers
After an unbearably long wait, John Wick: Chapter 4 finally hit theatres this weekend.
And just as viewers had hoped, the latest instalment in the John Wick franchise is an absolutely wild ride jam-packed full of intense action sequences.
What viewers might not have expected, though, was that shocking ending.
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This is your last chance to avoid spoilers. Proceed with caution!
The nearly three-hour flick sees Keanu's John Wick finds himself in a duel to the death with The Marquis (Bill Skarsgård).
The Marquis agrees, but gets Caine (Donnie Yen) to take on Wick on his behalf.
An intense battle ends with Caine shooting Wick right in the gut and sending him to the ground with a thud. When The Marquis re-appears, hoping to be the one who finishes Wick off once and for all, our hero shoots him in the head.
Wick is technically victorious, but it doesn't look too good for him either. The film finally ends with Wick slumped over, looking an awful lot like a corpse.
And if there was any doubt about John's ending, the final scene of the film shows the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) visiting Wick's grave with the deceased action hero's pit bull.
It looks like this is the end of the line for John Wick.
But right before the credits roll, John pooch snaps his head up to look at something - but what could it be? Is John Wick really six feet under? If he is, why??!
Well, Keanu has the answers - some of the answers.
Speaking at South by Southwest festival, where the film premiered, Keanu explained why the team decided to end the film how they did.
"We had the opportunity [to do another film] because of the audience [response to] Chapter Three, and we were like, ‘What was the ‘why?’" he explained to Far Out Magazine.
"And when Chad and I were talking, the ‘why’ was death - and it was John Wick’s death. For him to get his peace, or freedom, in a way… that was the reason to make the movie.
"It can’t just be, ‘Let’s do another one.’ It was really about death or a way of dying. We were really inspired by the Hagakure.”
Hagakure is a popular book about the history of the samurai and the samurai code.
The book explains that the only true way for a samurai warrior to live their life to the fullest extent is to embrace their mortality.
And what about the future of John Wick? Is this where it ends?
"You have to see how the audience responds to what we did," says Keanu.
"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."
You heard the man! It's in our hands now.
Topics: Film and TV, Keanu Reeves, John Wick
Ali Condon