John Wick: Chapter 4 takes the hitman’s fight against the High Table global as the movie spans Paris, Berlin, New York, and most importantly, Japan. Wick’s challenge to the all-powerful organization will put him in the crosshairs of a new character: the Marquis de Gramont, described as a "viciously ambitious" individual looking to make a name for himself, played by Bill Skarsgård.
"The Marquis is a young man of unknown origin who has quickly climbed the ladder within the High Table doing god knows what," Skarsgård tells Total Film in the new issue of the magazine, featuring John Wick on the cover. "I always saw him as someone from the gutter that now savors the glittery suits he’s wearing. He functions as the new sheriff set out to rid the world of John Wick once and for all."
The Marquis embodies the "bureaucratic evils" of the High Table by enforcing and manipulating the arbitrary rules of a system designed to keep John and others like him under its thumb. He may not be a physical match for John Wick – let’s face it, who is? – but the Marquis’ skill in twisting these rules to his favor makes him a threat that Wick can’t simply fight the only way he knows how.
"John’s getting old and tired, the Marquis is offering him a way out," Skarsgård teases. "To be the one who finally kills the Baba Yaga would secure his status and power within the High Table."
There will certainly be plenty of bureaucracy to deal with too, as Chapter 4 introduces a single-combat, winner-takes-all, pistol duel to the series’ mythology. However, Wick will soon find out it’s not as simple as throwing down a gauntlet. "You have to earn the right to duel," Chad Stahelski adds to Total Film. "Back in the day of medieval duels, you couldn’t duel outside of your class, that’s how they use power to manipulate. I thought that was a fascinating idea to mess with, a way to show a different class within our world. And it’s a nod to all the great westerns out there."
John Wick: Chapter 4 opens in cinemas around the world on March 24. That's just a snippet of our huge interview with Keanu Reeves and the rest of the John Wick team, featured in the new issue of Total Film, which hits stands (and digital devices) this Thursday, February 2. Check out the covers below:
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