John Wick: Chapter 4 trailer teases an end for the Keanu Reeves’ franchise

Finally, John Wick has a way out of his nightmare. If only he can survive it.

On Thursday, Lionsgate released the trailer for John Wick: Chapter 4, out in theaters March 24, 2023, as the next installment in the decade-defining John Wick movies. Keanu Reeves once again plays his bespoke killer, who is offered a chance to be free from his unpayable debt. But is the cost too high of a price?

Set to a new rendition of Terry Jacks’ “Seasons in the Sun,” the trailer picks up where 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum left off. John Wick (Reeves) is still on the run from the High Table when he is approached by ally-turned-nemesis Winston (Ian McShane), who invites John to get out of his debt to the High Table. But first, he must challenge a new foe, the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) to single combat.

“Win or lose, it’s a way out,” Winston says. While John Wick initially rejects the offer because he doesn’t “sit at the Table,” he is reminded, “Your family does.” It appears the next entry in the John Wick saga will reveal even more about John Wick’s life than we already know.

The movie also stars an array of legendary action stars who either stand beside John or stand in his way: Donnie Yen, as another antagonist named “Caine” who fights John with a katana; Clancy Brown (Highlander), as an unnamed figure from the High Table who is refereeing John’s final battle; Scott Adkins as another enemy named “Killa”; and the legendary Hiroyuki Sanada (Westworld, Mortal Kombat) as “Shimazu.” Also returning to the series is Laurence Fishburne as the Bowery King and Lance Reddick as Charon, the concierge of the Continental.

John Wick: Chapter 4, which ditches the series’ brief pattern of fancy Latin subtitles, is directed by series regular Chad Stahelski, who has helmed every John Wick film since its beginning in 2014. (Stahelski co-directed the first John Wick with Deadpool 2 and Bullet Train director David Leitch, but due to DGA rules wasn’t given official credit.) In 2019, Stahelski told Inverse that John Wick’s story only continues because it does well at the box office.

“We react to you [the audience],” Stahelski said during the release of Parabellum. “We were one of those odd little properties that got really fucking lucky in today’s market of superhero big-budget stuff. To come from a tiny, $18 million dollar [film], kill-20-people over a puppy to where we are now, we’re very thankful.”

Stahelski also told IndieWire, “John may survive all this shit, but at the end of it, there’s no happy ending. He’s got nowhere to go ... How do you fucking want me to end it? Do you think he’s going to ride off into the fucking sunset? He’s killed 300 fucking people and he’s just going to [walk away], everything’s okay? He’s fucked for the rest of his life. It’s just a matter of time.”

John Wick: Chapter 4 might very well have figured a way out for its title anti-hero, but if the movie performs as well as the entire franchise has, it’s possible John will live to fight another day. And for John, that’s the worst thing that can happen to him.

John Wick: Chapter 4 will be released in theatres on March 23.