John Wick 4 Had an Alternate Ending That Was Much Less Ambiguous

Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4.

John Wick Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski has revealed that the movie nearly had an alternate ending that was much less ambiguous than the one that made it into the theatrical cut.

In a new interview with Empire magazine, Stahelski confirmed that he filmed two different endings for the movie during production, one of which would have ended the speculation over John Wick’s fate. However, test audiences saw both versions and the ending that ended up in theaters garnered a better reception.

“We had a different ending,” Stahelski revealed. “[The theatrical ending] was the ending Keanu and I wanted, but we shot a different ending. We shot an ending where you actually saw John Wick at the end of the movie. So it was very clear that he was still alive. The audiences we tested with absolutely preferred the ambiguous ending.”

Chapter 4 serves as a swan song for the John Wick character as he (literally) duels to the death against martial arts expert Caine. While we don’t see Wick’s head severed from his body, everything the movie tells us in its dialogue and in its larger thematic movements suggests that Wick is no longer alive.

Keanu Reeves has refused to give a clear-cut answer on whether his titular character perished in the duel, coyly telling IGN in a John Wick 4 post-screening Q&A, “I mean, I have an opinion, but I don’t know if we should concretize it. Let the audience decide.”

John Wick 5 was originally going to be shot back-to-back with John Wick: Chapter 4, but when those plans changed, throwing the fate of another possible sequel into question but Lionsgate put the fifth movie back on the drawing board after Chapter 4 pulled off a record-breaking box office debut for the franchise.

Producer Basil Iwanyk has since confirmed that a fifth John Wick movie is in development but they haven’t figured out the story yet. He told IGN during an exclusive preview for John Wick prequel The Continental that they are very early in the creative process and haven’t settled on what the movie “looks like or feels like.”

The John Wick franchise has plenty more to offer in the interim. Not only is John Wick 4 getting an even longer director’s cut, but The Continental, a 1970s-set prequel series, will arrive on Peacock in September, and a spinoff film, Ballerina starring Ana de Armas, will debut on June 7, 2024.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.