John Wick 4 ending changed because of early audience's reactions
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John Wick: Chapter 4 spoilers follow.
John Wick: Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski has revealed that the movie's ending changed slightly due to early audience reactions.
The most recent instalment of the action franchise was released earlier this year, and wrapped up with Keanu Reeves's Wick seemingly being killed off.
The director has now confirmed that the movie had an alternative conclusion that showed the character still alive, though test audiences preferred an ambiguous fate, and as such they incorporated that into the final cut.
Related: John Wick 4 director's cut will add a brand-new character
“We had a different ending,” he told Empire Magazine. “[The theatrical ending] was the ending Keanu and I wanted, but we shot a different ending.
“We shot an ending where you actually saw John Wick at the end of the movie," Stahelski added. "So it was very clear that he was still alive. The audiences we tested with absolutely preferred the ambiguous ending.”
The director also reflected on deciding to do a fourth movie in the first place, admitting they felt they didn't quite nail the ending of Chapter 3 – Parabellum.
Related: John Wick spin-off The Continental gets first look
“We didn’t feel like we had done our best," he said. "We both felt like we could have ended the series better.
"We didn’t feel like we stuck the landing, and that’s a shitty feeling. Because we love the character, we love working together, we love the world.”
Stahelski continued: “I said, ‘I’d be pissed if that’s how they ended the whole series. I’d be pissed at the director'. And I had just read this treatise on samurai etiquette called Hagakure, the art of the way of dying.
Related: Why John Wick: Chapter 4 should be the end of the series
"And we’re like, ‘Yeah, he’s got to die. And we got to come up with the coolest way to make the happen. We’ve got to make it all about, ‘You can only have a good death if you had a good life’.’ That’s the first line we wrote on a napkin in Japan, three years out.
"We wrote the movie backwards off that one thing.”
Meanwhile, despite reports that a sequel is in the works, Stahelski has also revealed that a fifth movie isn't guaranteed.
The John Wick movies are available to buy or rent on Prime Video, plus DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD.
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