The latest installment in the highly popular John Wick franchise, John Wick: Chapter 4, made a powerful impact at the box office this year. Becoming the highest-grossing film in the series, the movie registered a worldwide collection of nearly $430 million, thus, helping the franchise cross the coveted $1 billion mark in total earnings. Moreover, clocking in at a lengthy 2 hours and 49 minutes, John Wick 4 also claimed the title of the longest film in the franchise. However, despite its already substantial runtime, there were still scenes left on the cutting room floor.
However, with the editing of the scenes, the movie lost almost 10 to 15 minutes of additional run-time, leaving out an entire character that was never introduced to the audience.
Chad Stahelski confirms the release of the Director’s cut despite criticism
In one of his recent interviews with Variety, Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone slammed the makers of John Wick: Chapter 4. In fact, the Scarface writer went as far as to call the film ‘disgusting.’
“I saw John Wick 4 on the plane. Talk about volume. I think the film is disgusting beyond belief. Disgusting. I don’t know what people are thinking. Maybe I was watching G.I. Joe when I was a kid. But [Reeves] kills, what, three, four hundred people in the f**king movie. And as a combat veteran, I gotta tell you, not one of them is believable. I realize it’s a movie, but it’s become a video game more than a movie.”
However, unfazed by the criticism hailed down by Stone, director Chad Stahelski hinted at an extended version of the blockbuster Keanu Reeves movie. Confirming the existence of deleted scenes in John Wick: Chapter 4 during an interview with Comic Book Movie, Stahelski shared,
“I’ve been working on the Director’s Cut – the Extended Cut – which we’ve almost finished. There’s about another, I think, 10 to 15 minutes we put back in.”
Moreover, the director also discussed the content that was missing in the present version of the movie.
How would the previously deleted scenes impact the storyline of John Wick: Chapter 4?
Stahelski further revealed that the additional footage includes a significant portion set in Berlin, featuring a character called The Frau. This particular scene, along with others involving interactions between John Wick and Tracker, as well as a few additional action sequences, will be reintegrated into the film. When discussing why these scenes were initially omitted, Stahelski explained,
“We cut out a big chunk of Berlin, a whole character called The Frau, which is a pretty funny scene with John, and another scene between him and Tracker, a few other little action beats that we put back in. I mean, yeah, there’s always stuff we take out because it doesn’t fit the pacing.
He continued,
“I think the stuff is all super quality, I love the choreo, I love the characters. It just didn’t – as a whole, it changed the pace of the film, and I didn’t think I could get, you know, two hour and 38-minute film in there if it felt slow.”
Emphasizing the importance of maintaining a driven and purposeful nature of the movie, Stahelski concluded that even though the scenes upset the pace of the film, they do deserve to see the light of day.
John Wick franchise fans can now look forward to experiencing the extended cut of John Wick 4, which promises even more thrilling action and an expanded narrative. However, the release date for the Director’s Cut is yet to be announced.
Source: Comic Book Movie, Variety
