John Wick: Chapter 4

The sequel to John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and the fourth installment in the John Wick franchise, the film stars Keanu Reeves as the title character, alongside Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, Clancy Brown, and Ian McShane. In the film, John Wick sets out to get revenge on the High Table and those who left him for dead.

Development of the fourth John Wick film, formally announced by Lionsgate in May 2019, was confirmed before the release of its predecessor. It is the first film in the franchise that was not written by franchise creator Derek Kolstad, with Hatten hired in May 2020, followed by Finch in March 2021. Principal photography took place from June to October 2021, and filming locations included France, Germany, New York City, and Japan.

The original release date of May 21, 2021 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. John Wick: Chapter 4 premiered at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London on March 6, 2023, and was released in the United States on March 24. The film received acclaim from critics, with praise for its action sequences, cinematography, choreography, visual style, and performances, and has grossed $440.1 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film in the franchise, as well as the ninth-highest-grossing film of the year domestically in the United States.

A spin-off, John Wick Presents: Ballerina, is set for release on June 6, 2025, while a fifth film is in development.

He travels to Morocco and kills the Elder, the “one who sits above the Table”. In response, High Table member Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont summons New York Continental Hotel manager Winston and his concierge Charon, where he explains that the High Table has given him unlimited resources to kill John and chastises Winston for previously failing to do so.

As punishment, the Marquis strips Winston of his managerial duties, declares him “excommunicado”, destroys the New York Continental and executes Charon. The Marquis then enlists Caine – a blind, retired High Table assassin – to kill his old friend John, threatening to murder Caine’s daughter.

John takes refuge at the Osaka Continental, run by his friend Shimazu Koji. The Marquis’ second-in-command Chidi, backed by High Table assassins and Caine, arrives to investigate the hotel. Koji’s daughter Akira, the hotel’s concierge, evacuates the hotel just before the High Table “deconsecrates” it, igniting a melee.

John fights through waves of armored assassins, leading to a showdown against Caine. A bounty hunter named Mr. Nobody interrupts their fight and allows John to escape after determining the current bounty for killing John to be insufficient. A wounded Koji repeatedly attacks Caine on John’s behalf, until Caine reluctantly kills Koji, but spares Akira.

John returns to New York and meets with a vengeful Winston at Charon’s gravesite. Winston suggests that John invoke an old High Table tradition to challenge the Marquis to a duel. Winning would free John of all obligations to the High Table, but he can only request a duel on behalf of a crime family.

John travels to the Berlin headquarters of the Ruska Roma crime syndicate, with whom he had severed ties, to request readmission. His adoptive sister Katia stipulates that for readmission, John must kill Killa Harkan, a High Table member who was paid by the Marquis to murder her father. Killa sets up an ambush at his nightclub, but with the aid of Caine and Mr. Nobody, John manages to kill him and regain his status.

Winston relays John’s challenge to the Marquis, acting as John’s ‘second’ and requests that, should John win, his excommunicado be revoked and the New York Continental be rebuilt, fully funded by the High Table; should John lose, however, Winston would also die as the challenger’s ‘second’.

In Paris, John and the Marquis decide on the duel’s parameters – dueling pistols at sunrise the following day at Sacré-Cœur – in a meeting moderated by the Harbinger, the Table’s emissary. The Marquis nominates a reluctant Caine to take his place, while the Harbinger warns that both John and Winston will be executed should either fail to appear on time. The Bowery King arrives in Paris to give John a pistol (9mm Pit Viper) and a new ballistic suit.

The Marquis intends to prevent John from arriving at the duel in time by placing a $26 million bounty on him. John fights off hordes of assassins on his way to Sacré-Cœur, including Mr. Nobody, who negotiates a bounty increase to $40 million. During their confrontation, John prevents Chidi from killing Mr. Nobody’s dog, causing Mr. Nobody to abandon his pursuit of John.

After Caine and Mr. Nobody assist John in fighting off several assassins – including Chidi, whom Mr. Nobody kills – on the Rue Foyatier, they reach the summit just in time for the duel. John and Caine wound each other through two rounds of dueling, and the third round comes to a halt when Caine severely wounds John. Demanding the right to administer the coup de grâce, the Marquis eagerly swaps places with Caine.

Winston chides the Marquis for his arrogance, revealing that John has not yet fired his third bullet. John then promptly executes the Marquis with a headshot, ending the duel. The Harbinger grants Caine and John their freedom from the High Table and Winston’s reinstatement of Hotel Manager of the New York Continental, which will be rebuilt with the High Table’s funds. John reflects upon his life and marriage before apparently succumbing to his injuries.

Sometime later, back in New York, Winston and the Bowery King bid farewell to John at his grave, located next to that of his wife Helen.

In a post-credits scene, Caine returns to Paris to reunite with his daughter but is approached by a vengeful, knife-wielding Akira.