Keanu Reeves was desperate to have his assassin character John Wick killed off by the end of the fourth movie, John Wick: Chapter 4.
Wick’s exhausting gun-toting battles with the high table have appeared to have taken a toll on the 59-year-old Reeves according to franchise producer, Basil Iwanyk.
Speaking to the Collider publication, Iwanyk spoke out about just how exhausting it is Reeves portraying the ruthless assassin everyone has come to love.
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He even went on to say that he and Reeves had to come to a compromise on the actor’s pleas to be 'killed off'.
“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,” Iwanyk said as he discussed Reeves’ attitude as they started production on John Wick: Chapter 4
“After the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th movie, making these films is so exhausting and it destroys Keanu, physically and emotionally. 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.”
The John Wick franchise has managed to secure legions of fans across the globe who have praised Reeves for his dedication to stunt work and intense performances.
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Despite Reeves’ pleas, Iwanyk did note that there was a reluctance to kill off the titular character as plans for a wider John Wick universe have begun to build traction.
The upcoming show, The Continental, is expected to premier on Peacock on September 22 2023, and is intended to be a prequel spin-off for the John Wick Universe.
Iwanyk also went on to praise Reeves and director Chad Stahelski for their dedication to the franchise. Iwanyk said he is ready and willing for next steps if the duo decide that they want to bring Reeves back for another action-filled adventure. However, he indicated he would only want this if the pair had come up with a worthy story.
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“We’ve all become such good friends and we all like each other so much and we’re all so tickled by the success of these movies, critically and commercially that we think to ourselves, ‘Okay, how do we get the band back together in a way that merits a good story in the next evolution of John,’” Iwanyk added.
“At this point, it’s Keanu and Chad [Stahelski] getting together to figure out what that story is. The way I describe it is that they’re like Paul McCartney and John Lennon, and I'm Ringo.
“They’ll call me and let me know, ‘All right, we’re showing up. Here’s where you show up, and here’s what our story is.'”
The producer closed by saying if fans really have seen the last of the John Wick character, everyone involved can rest happy and proud of everything they accomplished.
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Let's hope for our sake that we haven't.
Topics: Film and TV, Keanu Reeves, John Wick