Keanu Reeves Promises 'Next Level' Action in 'John Wick: Chapter 4'

Every "John Wick" movie so far has upped the ante for action movies, and star Keanu Reeves told Total Film magazine that "'John Wick: Chapter 4' has the most action of any of the films, which is saying a lot. And it's more by a good margin. It's a big show."

"John Wick" Chapter 4" is set to open in theaters on March 24, 2023, so the filmmakers are starting to roll out details in advance of the release.

Reeves, who's revived his movie career playing the Marine-turned-retired hitman, even threw out some spec ops slang to the magazine when he said, "'John Wick: Chapter 4' was the hardest physical role I've ever had in my career so far. They really trained me up to be able to have what we call the toolbox."

That "toolbox" includes Reeves doing his own stunt driving in a way that echoes the kind of risks Tom Cruise takes in his "Mission: Impossible" movies. "We took the car-driving to the next level, which I really enjoy," Reeves said. "There's 180s, forward-into-reverse 180s, reverse-into-forward 270s, drifting ... So it was really fun to get a chance to learn those skills, and to play."

Hong Kong actor and martial arts expert Donnie Yen, best known for the "Ip Man" series of martial arts action movies, will be an exciting addition to the Wick Cinematic Universe. He plays Caine, an old friend of Wick's and fellow retired assassin. As we know from the first three movies, "retired" is a relative concept in the world of contract killers.

Stunt coordinator and second unit director Scott Rogers told the magazine that Yen "brings 'master level' fighting abilities" to the set. "He is not an actor that you have to train for each specific fight. He is a great actor who is also a trained fighter. His ability to enhance the choreography through his own creativity is world class. When you add that to the many years of John Wick training that Keanu Reeves has invested, you end up with something very special."

Can the John Wick hot streak continue? Reeves certainly thinks so. "John Wick: Chapter 4 is our opus," he says. "Oh my god, it's crazy, man! It's banana cakes!"

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