John Wick: Chapter 4 Official First Look Revealed, Released March 24, 2023

John Wick: Chapter 4 has unveiled its first official image for the next installment in the popular hitman franchise. Lionsgate posted the photo on Twitter, featuring a black-clad Keanu Reeves sitting on an altar, surrounded by candles. At the end of the year, the studio delayed the film’s release from May 2022 to March 24, 2023, due to pandemic concerns. At the time, fans were also treated to a short teaser for the film with the words, “I see you.” Lionsgate also has an as yet unreleased trailer in store for us, which premiered at CinemaCon in April.

Serving as a direct sequel to John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, the new film sees the titular hitman (Reeves) team up with the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) in hopes of getting revenge on the High Table. Deadline reported in December that John Wick: Chapter 4 was being filmed in different locations around the world, and production had been halted in Japan due to increased cases of Omicron.

Further plot details are still scarce, but we can expect seamless fight choreography, large-scale action sets, and a wider cast of professional assassins. In an interview with Collider, co-star Fishburne had this to say about the film: “I read the script. It’s really, really cool. As much as it’s the same world as the other three movies, it’s just deeper. It’s much deeper in terms of the Assassin’s Code. And the relationship he has with a particular character that I think Mr. Watanabe is playing… really is the heart and soul of that.

It should be noted that the creator of John Wick, Derek Kolstad is not involved as a screenwriter in Chapters 4 and 5. “No. At a certain stage, the studio will tell you, your creation is graduated, and you want it. I’m still close with Chad (Stahelski), still close with Dave (Leitch), and I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m excited to see,” he told Collider. Kolstad’s last writing endeavor was the confined action film, Nobody – directed by Ilya Naishuller and starring Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) in the lead.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is co-written by Shay Hatten (Army of the Dead) and Michael Finch (Hitman: Agent 47). The film also stars Donnie Yen, Ian McShane, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rina Sawayama, Shamier Anderson and Lance Reddick. Additionally, Lionsgate Television is planning a spin-off TV show expansion, “The Continental”, which is based around the assassin’s hotel in the John Wick franchise.

John Wick: Chapter 4 hits theaters on March 24, 2023.

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