Mid-to-late March is about to deliver heaping helpings of your favorite shows and movies. Ted Lasso may have decided to jump the gun and get in there first, but then the dueling arrivals of Yellowjackets and Succession happen on the same weekend, along with Keanu Reeves in John Wick 4. The last trailer gave us Donnie freaking Yen as one of the franchise’s newest big bads (there are always so many of them, but he’ll be a standout), along with enough rain-soaked battle scenes and swordplay to satisfy existing fans of the franchise. No one could ever accuse these movies (or Keanu) of half-assing things. Imagine how sore he is after shooting every day. Yikes.
The fourth film might find it hard to top the busting-through-glass-boxes glee of the third movie, but I have faith that director Chad Stahelski will not steer us wrong. All of the action will be infused with more mythology, and the franchise has consistently one-upped itself from the sheer adrenaline of the first movie to the amped-up tension of an “Excommunicado” order. Before we new it, there were horses, ninjas, motorcycles, more dogs, and yes, it always comes back to the dogs. Note the final moment of this trailer.
As well, this trailer shows us Keanu going up against the High Table while battling a number of new villains. There’s the articulated notion that he may never be able to find freedom or peace unless, you know, he croaks. John Wick feels differently, although I wonder whether “peace” would ever be truly achievable when you’ve been through the sh*t he has. From the fourth film’s synopsis:
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating the High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes.
Also in the works: The Ballerina spinoff with Ana de Armas in action mode, along with The Continental origin story-prequel series coming to Peacock this year.
John Wick 4 arrives in theaters on March 24, 2023.