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Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for John Wick: Chapter 4!As audiences are reeling from the emotional finale, director Chad Stahelski reveals that John Wick: Chapter 4‘s ending was nearly far more mysterious. Keanu Reeves’ eponymous assassin finally found a path to being free of the High Table by challenging Bill Skarsgård’s Marquis de Gramont to a duel, only to be pitted against old friend Caine. After being shot three times, Wick outsmarted the Marquis as he stepped in to finish the job, though collapses on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur and is seemingly buried next to his wife Helen back in New York.
The Hollywood Reporter recently caught up with Chad Stahelski for a spoiler-filled break down of the newly released John Wick: Chapter 4. While exploring the movie’s shocking ending, the director revealed that the team actually shot an alternate ending, but that after test screenings, he and Reeves elected to retain their original plan, feeling it proved far more emotional. See what Stahelski explained below:
But to be honest with you, it was a little sketchy during test screenings. I haven’t told too many people this, but we did additional photography and shot a different ending. It wasn’t at the duel, but we did reveal that John Wick … There was a different way to do [the funeral scene], and we wanted it to be a little bit more mysterious. That’s why you see the puppy look up at the end [during the funeral scene].
So there was another thing that we tested, and we were open to testing both [endings] because Keanu and I just wanted to make a good movie. We just wanted to feel what was most satisfying. So we did one test screening, and the audience revolted pretty hard about [the new ending shot during additional photography]. So we thought that we nailed it the first time, and to the studio’s credit, they didn’t even blink. That night, literally in the theater, we all got it. We all saw the reactions, and we all high-fived each other and said, “We have a good movie.”
So Lionsgate said, “Let’s go with the ending that you guys feel strongest about,” but initially, they were like, “What the f–k?” Then, when they saw how we did it and how the movie came together, people got behind it because it chokes you up at the end.
How John Wick 4’s Alternate Ending Would’ve Changed The Movie
Though Stahelski doesn’t explicitly confirm it, his discussion of John Wick: Chapter 4‘s ending seemingly indicates it would’ve included a tease of Reeves’ survival rather than killing off the already iconic character. This would’ve been an understandable route considering the consistent success the John Wick franchise has enjoyed across its four films, as well as the initial plans for John Wick 5 to have been filmed back-to-back with its predecessor, only to be scrapped due to Stahelski’s creative reluctance.
Despite having shelved those plans, Stahelski has recently indicated that John Wick 5 could potentially move forward in the future, should he and Reeves figure a good story to bring the character back. With John Wick: Chapter 4 already setting new records at the box office for the franchise and scoring its best reviews yet, it does seem unlikely Lionsgate would want to let it rest for good. However, with the Ana de Armas-led spinoff Ballerina and The Continental prequel series releasing soon, Reeves and Stahelski will have some time to rest and determine if they want to come back.
Ultimately, while many have fallen in love with Reeves’ character over the past decade, most are likely to agree with him and Stahelski that John Wick: Chapter 4‘s current ending was the right call. Though an action film at its heart, the film explored the themes of consequences and saying goodbye, making Wick’s fate an emotional one as he still proved victorious in his quest for peace, even if he didn’t make it out alive.
Source: THR
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