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Anticipation Does Not Abate After ‘John Wick 4’ Is Delayed Again

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John Wick 4 is delayed again, but at least fans got a cute clip.

John Wick: Chapter 4 Announcement #shorts

Last Wednesday, Lionsgate announced that the release of John Wick: Chapter 4 would move from May 2022 to March 24, 2023, according to the project’s video teaser. The short clip features dramatic violins, an old-school blackboard, horn-rimmed operators, and vintage, green-lettered computers. With the atmosphere set, the tease ends with the message “Be seeing you,” after a loudspeaker announcement that “John Wick is now in effect.” Despite the delay, the much-anticipated film doesn’t seem to be losing steam. (Spoilers directly ahead!)

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After the Keanu Reeves-played assassin suffers a severe injury at the end of John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, he is secretly delivered to an underground bunker where he convalesces along with the also heavily wounded Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne). Healing and out for vengeance together, the two agree to join forces against the High Table. This team-up leads participants and fans alike to unbridled excitement for the fourth Wick iteration.

“I read the script. It’s really, really cool,” Fishburne said to Collider this past summer. “As much as it’s the same world as the other three films, it’s much deeper in terms of the code of the assassin and the relationship that he has with one character in particular.”

Keanu Reeves in 'John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum'
Lionsgate / Lionsgate

The film is being directed by Chad Stahelski and stars Donnie Yen as Caine, Rina Sawayama as Akira, Shamier Anderson as Tracker, and Bill Skarsgård of It fame as Marquis.

The film was originally postponed because of the pandemic, though no reason has yet been given for the updated schedule this time. The new film’s release does, notably, avoid Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick — slated for theatrical release on May 27, 2022. At this point, however, John Wick is more culturally relevant than a sequel to a 1986 fighter jet film.

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What was first a small-budget action thriller in 2014 has morphed into a massive franchise that’s become a significant chapter in Keanu Reeves’ career. Now three films in, John Wick shows no signs of slowing down as this fourth film might be the most anticipated story yet. Variety reports that after John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum netted $327 million worldwide, it pushed the total franchise to over $584 million at the box office.

The trick to its success? John Wick is fun, a pleasant surprise even to the man who plays its titular character. Reeves told Esquire about going to see the film this past November.

“I didn’t know if I was going to get the chance to do another one, and I just wanted to see if people liked it. It was cool when people started laughing during the knife fight in the opening,” Reeves said. “I went with a friend. I was like, ‘Let’s go see John Wick 3 before it goes.’ I love John Wick movies!”

Read More: ‘Cowboy Bebop’ Be Gone — Netflix Pulls the Plug After Less Than a Month

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Matthew Denis
Matthew Denis
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Matt Denis is an on-the-go remote multimedia reporter, exploring arts, culture, and the existential in the Pacific Northwest…
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