“John Wick 4” is ‘Hardest Physical Role’ of Keanu Reeves’ Career

We almost started this piece by making some kind of stupid observation about how later films in sagas don’t usually get better. At least not until the “Mission: Impossible,” Matt Reeves‘ “Apes,” and “John Wick” films. Just think about those series of movies for a second. They all started strong, sure- but how is it, with so many installments, they keep getting BETTER? Needless to say, they have been, and perhaps none so much as Chad Stahlski‘s Keanu Reeves-starring “John Wick” series.

The third film, “Parabellum,” had absolutely no business being as good as it was. Our expectations for “Chapter 4” are exceedingly high, especially when you throw in Donnie Yen (“IP Man,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story“) as new character, Caine.

“[Yen] Brings ‘master level’ fighting abilities. He is not an actor that you have to train for each specific fight,” stunt coordinator (and second unit director) Scott Rogers said. “He is a great actor who is also a trained fighter. His ability to enhance the choreography through his own creativity is world class. When you add that to the many years of John Wick training that Keanu Reeves has invested, you end up with something very special.”

“John Wick: Chapter 4 has the most action of any of the [John Wick] films, which is saying a lot,” Reeves said. “It’s more by a good margin. It’s a big show. ‘Chapter 4’ was the hardest physical role I’ve ever had in my career so far. They really trained me up to be able to have what we call the toolbox.”

And what skills might we see in said toolbox this time? Why, stunt driving, of course. “We took the car-driving to the next level, which I really enjoy,” Reeves said. “There’s 180s, forward-into-reverse 180s, reverse into-forward 270s, drifting… So it was really fun to get a chance to learn those skills, and to play.”

“John Wick: Chapter 4” is set to hit theaters March 24th, 2023.