John Wick: Chapter 4 Director Says The Ending Is 'Open To Interpretation'
Massive spoilers for "John Wick: Chapter 4" follow.
Throughout "John Wick: Chapter 4," both friend and foe ask John (Keanu Reeves) what he thinks the ending to his story is. His enemies are like a Hydra, Winston (Ian McShane) declares, and if he keeps chopping off heads, more will appear. That's why John seeks a duel with the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) so that he can permanently get the High Table off his back. John wins the duel, but it turns out the only freedom he can get is in death; Winston, the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), and John's dog show up for the funeral.
Now, the tone of the ending feels definitive, but the execution leaves some leeway. After remembering his wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan), John collapses in a wide shot. Cue a cross-dissolve to New York City, then cut to his gravestone. It seems hard to believe John Wick could die after all the injuries he's walked off; this is a man who, at the end of "Chapter 3," survived being shot and then falling off a skyscraper. However, his death is telegraphed throughout "Chapter 4." During a poker game, John pulls the Dead Man's Hand (a two pair of black aces and black eights, the hand Wild Bill Hickok had when he was murdered). John tells his friends he wants his gravestone inscribed with "Loving Husband." John likewise has little to live for without Helen, but in death, there's a chance he may be reunited with her.
"John Wick" series director Chad Stahelski spoke to Rolling Stone about the ending of "Chapter 4" and if the movie's ending was indeed "Mr. Wick's last sunrise."
A fable of consequences
While speaking to /Film about giving the film's epic fight scenes room to breathe, Stahelski hinted that a fifth "John Wick" film is a possibility, but seemed uninterested in doing it himself, at least right now. That might be why, based on his comments to Rolling Stone, he prefers to think of John as dead. Now, he does say that John's fate is up to "[the viewer's] interpretation." But you don't have to read between the lines to understand why Stahelski closed "Chapter 4" the way he did. He explained:
"These movies are supposed to be mythological fables, and there are consequences. When you do bad things, bad things happen. If there is another way for John to get out of this, or another way to have a satisfying conclusion to this particular journey, I'm happy to hear it. But you can't do a whole series about consequence and fate without showing consequence and fate. You have to bring it full-circle."
Consequences are the core of "John Wick." The first film was a revenge story; Russian mob prince Yousef (Alfie Allen) invaded John's home, beat him, and killed his dog, so John decided to get revenge. Then, in "Chapter 2," the plot is kicked off because John owed a blood debt to Santino D'Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio). John's troubles since the end of "Chapter 2" have been because he broke the rules of the Continental Hotel and killed Santino within its walls.
Myths never die
From the first "John Wick" film to the fourth, our hero has been called "Baba Yaga," a Russian fairy tale character analogous to the Boogeyman. This fits Stahelski's description of the series as "mythological fables" — John is a larger-than-life figure. In "Chapter 4," the Marquis says his goal isn't to just kill John but to kill the idea of John Wick. In that, he failed — in his world and ours.
For one, Stahelski noted that audiences will be seeing John again. The Ana de Armas spin-off "Ballerina" (directed by Len Wiseman) is set between "John Wick: Chapter 3" and "4;" Reeves, McShane, and the late Lance Reddick have all shot scenes for it. Plus, "Chapter 4" has a post-credits scene indicating Akira (Rina Sawayama) wants revenge on Caine (Donnie Yen) for the death of her father Koji (Hiroyuki Sanada) earlier in the film.
The thing about myths is that they never end, but are constantly reinterpreted by different storytellers. So while Stahelski seems to have said his last word on "John Wick," he's aware and accepting that other filmmakers might have more to say in the future.
"John Wick: Chapter 4" is currently in theaters.