John Wick Was Always Meant to Survive Chapter 4, so What Happened? (2024)

John Wick is a neo-noir action film series that began in 2014 and has since branched out to four films, the most recent being John Wick: Chapter 4. Despite being the most action-packed film in the series, it concludes with a heartbreaking scene in which John Wick ultimately finds peace as he takes his last breath. The lethal assassin who shook the criminal underworld is shown buried in New York, with his gravestone reading "Loving Husband."

Nonetheless, what if we believe that John Wick was always destined to survive in Chapter 4, and he could return for more? It may be somewhat controversial, given that the previous film might have been the perfect farewell to the beloved Baba Yaga, but John Wick is one of the most successful action franchises, so we can never rule out the possibility. Here are a few reasons why fans should hold onto hope that John Wick was still alive at the end of Chapter 4.

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John Wick: Chapter 4

Action

Crime

Thriller

Release Date

March 24, 2023

Director

Chad Stahelski

Cast

Keanu Reeves , Donnie Yen , Bill Skarsgard , Laurence Fishburne , Hiroyuki Sanada , Shamier Anderson , Lance Reddick , Scott Adkins , Ian McShane

The Ambiguous Ending of John Wick 4 Leaves a Lot to Be Desired

In John Wick: Chapter 4, Keanu Reeves' Baba Yaga dueled against Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont to free himself from the High Table. As the duel comes to a close, John is shot in the final round before killing the Marquis and seemingly dying, while his wife appears in a vision. Even though he keels over on the steps of the Basilica of Sacre Coeur, the film doesn't actually show us his death; instead, it allows viewers to speculate about the ambiguous ending.

In fact, there was no proper burial in the cemetery, as shown at the conclusion of John Wick: Chapter 4, except for Winston and Bowery King's grieving appearances, who, by the way, are perfectly capable of faking John's death. Furthermore, it makes little sense for only the Bowery King and Winston to be present at the burial, knowing that John had other allies bound to attend upon learning of his death.

Another significant hint comes at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, when John's dog peers to the side into the distance while Winston and Bowery King mourn by the burial site. It's likely that the dog that found John in the Bowery King's lair in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum senses his master's scent. With that stated, we believe that John Wick faked his death at the conclusion of Chapter 4 to evade the High Table and live the rest of his life in peace, but that is a story for another film, if one ever happens.

Keanu Reeves Is Willing to Return to the John Wick Franchise

In a previous interview, producer Basil Iwanyk claimed that Keanu Reeves was worn out when filming Chapter 4, and the actor wanted John Wick to have a definitive end so that he would not put such a toll on his body again. While the production did not entirely agree with him, they offered audiences an ambiguous conclusion, with a 10% possibility that he wouldn't die. Here are the exact words:

"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.'"

Given that Keanu Reeves is approaching his 60s, it is no surprise that the stunts he performs in films are taking a toll on his body. So, it's reasonable that even Reeves, a dedicated professional actor, would reach a breaking point. However, Reeves' return to the franchise is not totally out of the question since the franchise's director, Chad Stahleski, has revealed that an alternate ending filmed before the release of John Wick: Chapter 4 might mark Baba Yaga's return.

The John Wick 4 Alternate Ending

In the alternate ending, John Wick apparently survives, but the scene was removed during test screenings, which made better sense for the film. While the standard version of Chapter 4 lasted 2 hours and 49 minutes, the long-discussed extended cut would add around 15 minutes of content, bringing the total runtime to over three hours. If they intend to make another film in the franchise, there is a strong likelihood that the upcoming director's cut, should it ever be released, will feature an alternate conclusion. Stahleski told Empire:

"We had a different ending. [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."

He continued in a conversation with EW, sharing his thoughts on the final scenes of John Wick: Chapter 4. "Let's just say John Wick has found a way to be at peace," Stahleski explained. "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."

Like I Am Legend, which is currently gearing up to release a sequel based on an alternate ending, the director's cut's climatic sequence could potentially bring John Wick back from the grave. Having said that, it doesn't seem like the creators figured anything out, as they stated in the interview; there is much more to explore before even thinking about Chapter 5. In their words,

Yeah, Keanu and I've talked. Keanu, if you ask him right now, ‘Would you do John Wick 5?’ He’d be, ‘F— yeah!’ But then he’d look and go, ‘Well, what is it? I have no f—ing idea.’ And believe me, it’s not like, ‘We’re going to figure it out today.’ We have a lot of set pieces, we have a lot of ideas, we have a lot of things that we didn't go or didn't do before. I have no doubt that we'd come up with a lot of great pieces. It just, 'What's the main threat?' We're about myths. It's like a fable. What's the message in the fable? What's the moral of the story?"

Meanwhile, John Wick will also make an appearance in the forthcoming action thriller Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas, though it is set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum and Chapter 4. The one great virtue about the fourth film is that it isn't titled John Wick: Chapter 4 - Conclusion, so there is at least a chance that Keanu Reeves will return to the franchise to deliver another explosive performance. John Wick: Chapter 4 is streaming on Starz.