The High Table has its eye set on the boogeyman in John Wick 4 and unlike the past three films, Mr. Wick (Keanu Reeves) won’t just be facing low-life criminals or the customary city’s best assassins but rather a slew of antagonists that are just as skilled as him. So expect guns blazing samurai sword-wielding hunters out for John’s blood, especially during his stay in Tokyo, Japan. Though, Baba Yaga also has allies such as the bowery king (Laurence Fishburne) and Winston (Ian McShane) but which brings us to, how did John manage to recover from his bone-shattering fall from John Wick 3? Director Chad Stahelski dealt with it by throwing in a time jump. 

In 2019’s threequel, Wick’s path to peace begins with an all-out war (Parabellum) in the assassin’s underground world all the while he faces it as a one-man army. While the Baba Yaga certainly faced some of the fiercest hired killers like the ninja trio, The Shinobi, tasked by the adjudicator. Yet again, the boogeymen proved to be too skillful to be taken out. However, John Wick 4’s list of villains may push Wick to his limits or worse. 

For starters, Baba Yaga was not in a menacing state at the end of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum after Winston’s back-stabbing deal gets him shot and forced to fall down the roof of the Continental hotel. But luckily, the Bowery King comes to the rescue so how did the two manage to recover from the third film’s aftermath? “A little time has passed between three and four,” explains Stahelski speaking for Empire’s print issue. 

The director further added that the time jump was, “Enough for John to stitch some bones back together and heal.” And the boogeyman is quick to realize there’s “only one way out” as Stahelski puts it, “John doesn’t know when to quit.” However, his survival rate is rather slim since he’ll be facing the likes of multiple A-class assassins. “I don’t think we  have one antagonist in this film, we have many.”

John Wick 4 features Reeves’ Boogeyman fighting Scott Adkins’ Killa, Donnie Yen’s Caine & more

Stahelski went into detail on the characters played by actors like Bill Skarsgård, presumed to be the new management leading the High Table. Shamier Anderson’s character is described as the Tracker (“name says what that’s all about”). But the John Wick 4 helmer was raving over Scott Adkins’ Killa, “Yes, he can kick and punch, but when you see his performance in this, you’re gonna realise, ‘Oh my God, this guy can hold his own’”. 

Chilean actor Marko Zaror, known for playing the menacing antagonist in the Scott Adkins starring Undisputed 3 is also in the fourth installment. Then there’s the legendary action star Donnie Yen. “Donnie spent all his time thinking about the character creation,” said the director. “And you put all these guys together, and John becomes the nexus of how they all meet.”

The John Wick 4 official trailer from earlier this month did in fact show Mr. Wick interacting with a few of the above-mentioned assassins. Moreover, he also seems to share a unique relationship with them like Hiroyuki Sanada’s Shimazu.

The hype for the anticipated fourth part of the John Wick franchise has remained high since the creators teased the project at Cinema Con 2022 and presented the first look at San Diego Comic-Con. The franchise seems to be at its pique with the upcoming John Wick 4 and from the looks of it, the team behind the fourth film has explored new elements rather than just sticking to this mythology’s success formula. 

John Wick 4 will hit theaters on March 24, 2023.