John Wick 4 Stunt Coordinator Created A Ballet Of Violence With Keanu Reeves And Donnie Yen [Exclusive]
Creating the fight choreography and stunts for a "John Wick" flick is a pretty massive responsibility. The films hinge on the fierce and frenetic fight scenes: People flock to theaters to see John Wick (Keanu Reeves) fight in both hand-to-hand combat and various kinds of gun-fu with a whole host of baddies. For "John Wick: Chapter 4," the latest and greatest sequel in the franchise, stunt coordinators Stephen Dunlevy and Scott Rogers really had their work cut out for them, creating fight scenes between Reeves and martial arts legends like Donnie Yen and Hiroyuki Sonata. Look, this is a franchise that was created by a stuntman (series creator and director Chad Stahelski), so these stunts have to be immaculate.
In an upcoming exclusive interview with /Film's Vanessa Armstrong, Dunlevy and Rogers shared the stories behind bringing a brutal "ballet of violence" to life onscreen. When you're working with performers as dedicated as Reeves, Yen, and Sonata, you've got to give them something fun to play with, and the "John Wick" team pushed them to the limits.
You can read on to learn some of the secrets behind the martial arts madness in this sizzling sequel.
Setting the standard
Reeves may not be a martial artist in the traditional sense, but he takes his job very seriously, and Dunlevy explained that he sets the standard for the whole franchise:
"Keanu sets the standard ... There's the hierarchy on the call sheet, and he's number one. Keanu's always set a very high standard. He's turning up for training, he's one of the first ones there in the morning. He's training all day in different disciplines. He'll go from working with the fight team in the morning straight to driving or to working with the dogs, things like that. His work ethic is amazing, which set a massive standard."
The "John Wick" movies simply couldn't work without Reeves, who brings an incredible mysterious charisma to the character and dedicates himself to the role as much as possible. Considering that Reeves seems pretty laid-back and peaceful in real life, his intensity and willingness to go all the way for the character is genuinely inspiring. It's not a big surprise that the rest of the cast and crew ended up following in Reeves' footsteps and became fully committed to the project, and that meant bringing together a number of different kinds of talents to create a beautiful blend.
Marrying multiple martial arts styles
Reeves might be an action movie legend, but Sonata and Yen are legends in their own right. Sonata was Japanese martial arts icon Sonny Chiba's protégé, while Yen is a Hong Kong martial arts superstar and the face of the "Ip Man" franchise. Both brought a wealth of experience and skill to the project, but there weren't any butting heads over the "right" way to do things. Instead, those differences were integrated into the characters themselves, as Dunlevy explained:
"And for Jeremy Marinas, our fight coordinator, to integrate all of those different styles, because everyone is coming in with different skill sets and no two actors or no two characters speak with the same dialogue. So fight styles are unwritten, they're part of the character that Chad builds in, and each one of them needed their own distinct fight styles. To marry those, Chad, in guidance with Jeremy and the fight team, did an amazing job at marrying those fight styles to get a ballet of violence that comes together."
The violence in the "John Wick" films is very theatrical, so calling it a "ballet of violence" really isn't that far off. There's a bit of wuxia, a bit of John Woo-style shootouts, and a whole lot of butt-kicking, and if you like action movies, what's not to love?
"John Wick: Chapter 4" premieres in theaters on March 24, 2023.