There’s no denying it: John Wick: Chapter 4 was long. Across nearly three hours, Keanu Reeves’ unstoppable assassin fought his way through Tokyo, Berlin, and Paris in some of the most astonishing fight sequences in action cinema – delivering the most expansive instalment in the Chad Stahelski-directed saga. But… if there was extra cool action stuff that didn’t make the screen, you’d want to see it, right? Of course you would. And you’re in luck, because Stahelski is hard at work putting together a Director’s Cut of Chapter 4, adding more action – and an entire new character – to the movie.
Speaking to ComicBookMovie.com, Stahelski said he’s “almost finished” the extended edition. “There's about another, I think, 10 to 15 minutes we put back in,” he says. “We cut out a big chunk of Berlin, a whole character called The Frau, which is a pretty funny scene with John, and another scene between him and Tracker, a few other little action beats that we put back in.” While the scenes were originally cut for pacing reasons, it sounds like there’s real substance to the added material. “I think the stuff is all super quality, I love the choreo, I love the characters,” explains Stahelski. “It just didn’t- As a whole, it changed the pace of the film, and I didn't think I could get, you know, [a] two hour and 38 minute film in there if it felt slow. I think we got away with it because it felt driven, it felt like it was very purposeful, and I didn't want to upset that pace. And, if it has to go, it has to go.”
It sounds like it won’t be too long, then, until we can see a three-hour-plus version of the fourquel – place your bets now on whether 10 of the extra minutes will be John falling down more steps of the Sacré Coeur that we didn’t even know existed. Next up from the John Wick universe, we’ll be getting three-episode miniseries The Continental, offering a ‘70s-set backstory on how Winston came to power in the series’ mythical hotel – and next summer, Ana de Armas will be leading spin-off movie Ballerina, set between the events of Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. Prepare your adrenaline glands accordingly.