'John Wick 4' delayed to 2023 after fears of being shattered by Top Gun: Maverick
If you've been waiting at the edge of your seat for 'John Wick: Chapter 4', you might have to wait a little longer than anticipated. The fourth instalment, which was scheduled to release during the Memorial Day weekend of 2022 has now been pushed all the way back to March 24, 2023, as announced by Lionsgate, the film's distributor.
As with the previous three, the fourth instalment features actor Keanu Reeves taking on the role of hitman John Wick. The new movie picks up where the third instalment left off, as John Wick now faces a global network of hired killers. The film also features Donnie Yen, Laurence Fishburne, Bill Skarsgård, and Ian McShane.
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As reported by Daily Mail, Lionsgate's decision to change the release date is to avoid the significant competition with Top Gun: Maverick, which will be released on May 27, 2022. Top Gun: Maverick has already seen several delays in its release on account of the pandemic. The movie stars Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly and Jon Hamm.
However, this might not be the only reason.
Deadline subsequently reported that the 'actual reason' 'John Wick: Chapter 4' had to shift its release date was due to production delays and said production needed to be resumed later in Japan, as the movie is being filmed around the world. So while it was initially scheduled for a Memorial Day weekend release, the production status resulted in the change of date.
Lionsgate's made the announcement via a short clip posted to their social media. The clip features the Administration, as seen in the previous movies of the franchise. While the sound of typewriters fill the air and women work old-timey switchboards, a woman hands over a file to an operator, which happens to have John Wick's photo inside. The scene cuts to a massive chalkboard labelled 'subject, bounty, status origin', and as a woman erases parts of it, save for a date, March 24, 2023, written in bold letters. To reinforce this, a woman is seen typing the details of the worldwide release date on a green-and-black computer screen. The caption alongside the video reads -- "Be seeing you. 3.24.23."
You can watch the video here.