Is John Wick Really Dead In Chapter 4?
Keanu Reeve’s titular assassin has a somewhat vague ending in John Wick: Chapter 4. Having been shot three times, Wick didn’t walk out of the dual in one piece, but calling his injuries life-threatening is a hard pass. Instead, the film leaves his fate to a tombstone. Is John Wick really dead? Many viewers aren’t convinced.
Throughout the film, there are multiple instances where Wick could have died, but he had helps. Caine, for one, has saved Wick many times. One could say that he’s rooting for Wick to win (perhaps in the last dual, he did prepare to lose). Caine has no intention of killing John. He took the job solely to protect his daughter from the Table. Trading one life for another is a typical Table move to own a killer’s body and soul, but too much knee-on-the-neck also creates resentment. Wick winning the dual means taking back control of their lives, and that the Table can be defeated.
In the film, Caine avoided most confrontations with Wick. He also aided his old friend on the way to the dual. If he hasn’t shown up at the stairs in time, Wick wouldn’t even make it to the last game. Now, let’s take an even closer look at what happened during the dual: two world-class assassins in a faceoff, yet they only aim for shoulders and arms.
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Caine Has No Intention To Kill John Wick
“Those who want to live, die.” “Those who want to die, live.” Those are the last two exchange between Caine and Wick in the final dual. Confused as Marquis, it’s hard to really understand what they mean solely through words. But here’s what happened: John held his bullets; Caine didn’t shoot him in the heart/head.
The last blow John took wasn’t fatal. If Caine wins, there’s always a possibility that Marquis will use his daughter again as a bargain to bend his knees. But if he dies in the dual, his daughter will be safe. From Caine’s perspective, the last blow wasn’t meant to kill Wick. And the bullet Wick held back was never meant for a friend.
Before heading off to the dual, Wick asked Winston for a tombstone with the words “loving husband” under his name. The tombstone might be a symbolic death to his assassin’s life rather than the actual one. There’s a big possibility that Wick might have faked his death to be truly free from the world of killing.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if John Wick shows up in Chapter 5. On the other hand, Chapter 4 has tied up enough loose ends to be the franchise’s closing chapter. Wick, having revenge for his late wife and earning his freedom, may finally rest in peace. The mentality also echoes Reeve’s condition after four films. John Wick’s producer Basil Iwanyk revealed that Reeve basically begged for his role to be killed off in Chapter 4.
Outside Factors
"After the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th movie, making these films is so exhausting and it destroys Keanu, physically and emotionally," explained Iwanyk. "By the end, he’s always like, 'I can’t do this again,' and we agree with him. The guy is just a shell of himself because he just goes off and goes for it. He was like, 'I wanna be definitively killed at the end of this movie.' We were like, 'You know, we’ll leave a 10% little opening.'"
At 59, playing John Wick can be physically demanding for Reeve. He can’t play the character forever, but he might just change his mind one day and jump back in. As for Chapter 5, one crucial factor that determines its fate is the story itself. They have been dragging John Wick out of retirement since Chapter 1. The character has been through a lot.
For another film to happen, they have to come up with a good enough story, a strong reason to come back together. “At this point, it’s Keanu and Chad [Stahelski] getting together to figure out what that story is,” said Iwanyk. “We all want another John Wick. We don’t know what it looks like and when it will happen, but we love each other and we love this world.”
At this point, John Wick’s fate is not determined by what happened in the film but outside of it. He is currently 80% dead, 10% ready to be resurrected, and 10% living in peace under a different name.
After all, Wick has just gone on a killing spree, adding up body counts for almost four hours straight in Chapter 4. Not only him, but viewers are also tired of him back to killing again. But do we want to see John Wick in a romance film? No. The bar is high for Chapter 5. Honestly, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to leave him in peace. After all, he earned it through four films.
Chapter 5 script is currently being developed.
Rewatch John Wick Chapters 1-4 on Amazon Prime starting from $3.99.
