John Wick: Chapter 4 Trailer is Going to Need a Gun

Movies

Stock up on guns and gold because Lionsgate has released a trailer for John Wick: Chapter 4. The latest entry in the action series, John Wick: Chapter 4 finds the titular hitman still on the run from the assassin’s guild to which he once belonged, seeking out the powerful leaders known as the High Table. Keanu Reeves returns as John Wick, with Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, and Lance Reddick also back. Newcomers include Bill Skarsgård, Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Sanada, Scott Adkins, and Clancy Brown. Chad Stahleski once again directs the series he co-created with David Leitch. John Wick: Chapter 4 will hit theaters on March 24, 2023. You can see the trailer below:

Getting people excited for a John Wick movie is a layup, but that doesn’t mean the John Wick: Chapter 4 trailer isn’t an adrenaline-pumping whiskey shot of fun. The beginning is terrific, and I love that, in what he believes may be his final moments before death, Wick visits a church to talk to his wife, just in case. Part of the reason Wick is so likable is because of the humanity they’ve given him from the beginning of the first movie – his grief over his wife, his love of dogs, his desire to be left alone. Just a few scenes like this keep that in the back of our minds during the relentless action. This aspect of the Wick movies reminds me more of James Bond than, say, the Mission: Impossible series (or what they call James Bond nowadays), where the attempts to give Ethan Hunt humanity feel belabored and false and they wind up being distractions from the action rather than complements. (Compare this scene from the trailer to the pre-title sequence of For Your Eyes Only, for example, and those to that ridiculous love triangle from Mission: Impossible – Fallout.) In these moments, John Wick feels like he could be any of us.

But back to the action; they only show snippets of the mayhem we’re assuredly in for with John Wick: Chapter 4 in the trailer, and that’s good. I want to be taken aback by the fights and shootouts, not knowing every beat of them before they happen. It looks like they’re going to delve deeper into the lore surrounding the assassins, which is some of the coolest stuff in these movies. I like how they parcel out the information slowly, often just in suggestion. Bill Skarsgård talks about “new management,” indicating a hostile takeover of the High Table may be nigh; it reminds me of Deacon Frost in Blade (and John Wick really needs a villain of that caliber). The imagery of a pistol duel is neat, too, with Clancy Brown presenting the guns. It looks like Donnie Yen will be the physical opponent for Wick this time, and I’m sure their inevitable showdown won’t disappoint. I’m interested in finding out who Hiroyuki Sanada is playing; that guy is compelling in every movie he in which appears. There’s not much to get excited about in theaters anymore, but a new John Wick film is a promise of fun and entertainment.

What did you think of the John Wick: Chapter 4 trailer? Do you like this series? Is Lionsgate on the phone with Carrie Anne Moss for John Wick 5 so they can out-Matrix The Matrix: Resurrections? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to Geeks + Gamers for more from the Flatiron Building!