Before John Wick 4 released in the state that it is today, word got around that there was initially a longer cut of the film. Three months on, director Chad Stahelski has confirmed a director’s cut is indeed in the works, with around 10 to 15 minutes of additional content in store.
The filmmaker shared in an interview with Comic Book Movie that the extended version is currently in its final stages of development, and will eventually see the light of day. “Yeah, I’ve been working on the director’s cut, the extended cut, which we’ve almost finished. There’s about another, I think, 10 to 15 minutes we put back in,” he said. “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 no release date was given, the announcement is hopeful and welcome news for fans of the franchise. But every film has its detractors, and Oliver Stone – who had previously worked on 1978’s Midnight Express, 1986’s Platoon, and 2016’s Snowden – isn’t afraid to make his dislike known.
Speaking to Variety, the industry veteran described Stahelski’s latest as “disgusting beyond belief,” expressing disdain for its heavy use of unrealistic fight choreography that makes it look more like a video game than a movie.
“I saw John Wick 4 on the plane. Talk about volume. I think the film is disgusting beyond belief. Disgusting. I don’t know what people are thinking,” he said. “Maybe I was watching G.I. Joe when I was a kid. But [Keanu Reeves] kills, what, three, four hundred people in the f**king movie. And as a combat veteran, I gotta tell you, not one of them is believable. I realise it’s a movie, but it’s become a video game more than a movie.
“It’s lost touch with reality. The audience perhaps likes the video game. But I get bored by it,” he continued. “How many cars can crash? How many stunts can you do? What’s the difference between Fast & Furious and some other film? It’s just one thing after another. Whether it’s a super-human Marvel character or just a human being like John Wick, it doesn’t make any difference. It’s not believable.”
Unfortunately for Stone (and fortunately for everyone else), there will John Wick projects to come, including Peacock’s prequel spin-off series The Continental, the Ana de Armas-led Ballerina, and John Wick 5, which is currently in early development.
John Wick 4 debuted in theatres on 23 March, making its mark as the longest entry in the series with a 169-minute runtime. It sees the return of Keanu Reeves as the titular assassin, alongside a star-studded ensemble cast that features Laurence Fishburn (The Matrix), Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Japanese-British pop singer Rina Sawayama, Hiroyuki Sanada (Army of the Dead), Marko Zaror (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series), Shamier Anderson (Wynonna Earp), Bill Skarsgård (It: Chapter Two), Scott Adkins (The Bourne Ultimatum), and Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption).
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Natalie
