'It's dreams': Keanu Reeves reveals why he fought for 'John Wick: Chapter 4's theatrical release despite delays
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Cinema is an experience in itself. To fully immerse yourself in that experience, it is important to watch it on silver screens. It's not just us, but John Wick agrees to too. Keanu Reeves, who plays the protagonist in the blockbuster 'John Wick' franchise, didn't agree to send 'John Wick : Chapter 4' straight to streaming after its theatrical release was delayed more than once.
The project was delayed once due to Covid, but now the new chapter will finally hit the silver screens on March 24.
Directed by Chad Stahelski, 'John Wick: Chapter 4' will see John on a new mission of discovering how to end the evil high table. Before he finally breathes into freedom, he has to tackle new enemies with evil alliances from around the world and forces that turn old friends into new enemies.
READ MORE
NEW 'John Wick: Chapter 4' poster indicates time is CRUCIAL for Keanu Reeves' title character
Delayed due to the pandemic
During a recent interview with Wired, Reeves revealed that chapter 4 was initially set to hit theaters on May 21, 2021, but due to the pandemic and his strict schedule for 'The Matrix: Resurrections', the premiere date was postponed to May 27, 2022. Since then, it's been postponed again to March 24, 2023. Along with the reason behind postponing the movie, Reeves also talked about why he wanted 'John Wick: Chapter 4' to be released in theaters. "It’s dreams, right? And immersion. I think the power of cinema—part of it is its novelty, but also its scale. You see a close-up of a wonderful performance with emotions and storytelling that touch you. Whether it’s horror or action or comedy, you’re seeing a face that’s, you know, 20 feet tall. Yeah. You’re, like, there. The intimacy of that," he said.
Apart from all the reasons of experiencing the film in theaters, the release will surely benefit the film and will reach on a larger scale to a wider audience, and Lionsgate is confident of their film's promotion. Considering that they did a great job with their Wick Week campaign. While fans didn't see the film's presence in Super Bowl this week, they're surely witnessing the promotional content going out daily. A brand-new poster showing Wick standing in front of the Eiffel Tower was released as part of the Wick Week campaign, with brand-new character posters making their way online. There are couple of days left for the 'Wick Week' campaign to end, after that we'll hopefully have more surprises on our way from the studio.
There's more to the 'John Wick' franchise
Chapter 4 will follow Wick's storyline, but more characters will be introduced soon into the franchise. A spin-off and fifth installment starring Ana de Armas is currently in post-production. 'Ballerina' will take place in between the third and fourth entries of the series, where Armas plays the character of ballerina Rooney, who is a professional dancer on the road to take revenge on the murderers of her family. Directed by Len Wiseman, some of the heavy action sequences of the movie were shot in the golden city of Prague.