Keanu Reeves wanted John Wick to be killed off, but one producer admits he’s not 100% dead

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The dog days might not be over

John Wick 4
(Image credit: Lionsgate)

A John Wick producer has revealed that Keanu Reeves asked for his titular hitman to be killed off in John Wick 4. 

Basil Iwanyk told Collider, "After the second, third, and fourth movie, making these films is so exhausting and it destroys Keanu, physically and emotionally. By the end, he’s always like, 'I can’t do this again,' and we agree with him. The guy is just a shell of himself because he just goes off and goes for it. He was like, 'I wanna be definitively killed at the end of this movie.'"

The producers, though, seemingly weren’t too keen on definitively saying goodbye to John Wick. 

"We were like, 'You know, we’ll leave a 10% little opening," Iwanyk teased, presumably with a wink.

John Wick seemingly did meet his end in John Wick 4, ironically at the hands – or, rather, gun – of his good friend Caine, followed by a coup de grace from Bill Skarsgård’s Marquis. 

The John Wick 4 ending, however, left things ambiguous: we never see John Wick’s body (always a major tell) and, at his grave, some fans believe they can see Wick’s dog react to something in the distance…

Keanu Reeves will reprise his role at least once more in Ballerina, the Ana de Armas-starring spin-off. 

John Wick 5 is also planned, as are further spin-offs and a "AAA video game." A prequel, The Continental, is streaming on Peacock from September 22. For more, check out the new TV shows coming your way over the next few months, including Loki season 2.

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.