Keanu Reeves Kept Knocking Himself Out Filming John Wick 4
According to director Chad Stahleski, Keanu Reeves kept knocking himself out with nunchucks while training for John Wick: Chapter 4.
Keanu Reeves used his head to prepare for John Wick: Chapter 4. Director Chad Stahelski revealed in an IGN interview that, when it came to nunchucks, Reeves may have done that a bit too literally. Specifically, Stahleski said that “Keanu spent months knocking himself out, getting good at nunchucks.” Reeves wields numerous weapons throughout the trailer for what is reported to be the franchise’s longest film so far, and apparently the nunchucks took a while.
Stahelski’s talk with IGN reveals the director’s commitment to pushing the envelope. After admitting the franchise’s growth starts with him as a director, he issued the challenge of improvement to Reeves, saying “He’s got to expand. He’s got to get better at martial arts. He’s got to get better in every way.” To keep up with the film’s new antagonists, Stahelski may be right.
John Wick: Chapter 4 adds action star Donnie Yen to its impressive franchise roster. Deadline reports that Yen plays a mysterious friend from John Wick’s past named Caine. While the relationship between Wick and Caine remains a mystery, the trailer makes one thing clear: the martial arts legend will go toe-to-toe with Baba Yaga.
Best known for his portrayal of martial arts grandmaster Ip Man, Yen is a prolific Hong Kong action filmmaker. He notably appeared in the American blockbuster films Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as the blind warrior Chirrut Imwe and in Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan as Commander Tung.
Yen isn’t the only newcomer to the world of The Continental. John Wick sets a collision course with the rakish Marquis, played by a decidedly dapper Bill Skarsgard. Best known as Pennywise, the nightmarish clown in 2017’s It and the subsequent It Chapter Two, Skarsgard is no stranger to blockbusters; he appeared in Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, and Eternals. Over the summer, Skarsgard lent his talent to the surprise hit horror film Barbarian.
While plot details remain under wraps, it seems a clash between Keanu Reeves and Bill Skarsgard is inevitable as John Wick aims to end the manhunt perpetually threatening his life. Little more is known about Skarsgard’s character, but the trailer showcases a suave and sinister antagonist for the sequel.
Hiroyuki Sanada, another martial arts legend recently seen alongside Brad Pitt in Bullet Train and as Scorpion in Mortal Kombat (2021), also joins the franchise to challenge Mr. Wick.
Keanu Reeves and his new foes are joined by franchise regulars Ian McShane, reprising his role as Wick’s frenemy Winston, Lance Reddick as Charon of The Continental, and Reeves’ longtime collaborator Laurence Fishburne as the pigeon-loving Bowery King.
Last seen beaten, bloody, and betrayed, John Wick ended the third installment on the wrong side of the High Table and, in Bowery’s words, “pissed off.” The work Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves seems to set John Wick: Chapter 4 up for vengeance, redemption, and certainly no shortage of nunchucks.
