By including one major Keanu Reeves scene in Chapter 3, John Wick director gave Lionsgate a major headache until John Wick: Chapter 4 got released!

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It has been almost a decade since the first installment from the John Wick film series was released, and the franchise seems to still be going as strong as ever. With Keanu Reeves in the lead remarkably portraying the titular character, every new installment from the movie series brings about something better than before and something that fans can get totally hooked on.

John Wick

However, everybody makes mistakes at one place or another, and that’s exactly what happened with the film series’ director, whose only fault was adding one crucial scene in the third installment, thinking it was the last. But, unexpectedly, Chapter 4 came to be as well, and this one crucial scene nearly backfired badly, giving Lionsgate a major headache until the film was released.

One Major John Wick 3 Scene Almost Messed Up Chapter 4

Keanu Reeves as John Wick

Though every John Wick movie brings about a new surprising element each time, the third chapter of the film series brought about something beyond extraordinary: Keanu Reeves‘ cutting off his own finger to present his wedding ring with ring finger included to the mysterious Elder in an act of fealty.

In director Chad Stahelski’s defense, this scene was actually included because he thought that the third chapter would be the last of the movie series. Talking with Collider, he shared the same:

“Oh, yeah. [Laughs] You think the studio thought that was a good idea? In number three, we cut it off because we figured that number three was our last one. I have a friend over at Lionsgate, and as soon as we said ‘number four,’ he’s like, ‘That finger is gonna f*** us.’ I’m like, ‘Yep. It’s awesome.’”

But something had to be done about the finger if there was going to be a new chapter, and the filmmaker finally figured out a queue with Reeves.

“But no, man, Keanu [Reeves] and I, we like stigmata. We like symbolism. So it wasn’t about taking a wedding ring, it was about taking the finger that ring’s on so we could never put a wedding ring on again. He’s killing the possibility of that future symbolism. That’s a powerful little mechanism for what we’re trying to say there.”

Just like that, the broken finger left no room for regret for Chad Stahelski.

“So no, I don’t regret it all. If anything, I kind of find it kind of funny. It drove my visual effects supervisor nuts, but you figure every shot with Keanu in the movie was removing that finger. So, you know, a little pain, but it was worth it.”

That was the story of how a major scene from John Wick: Chapter 3, which gave Lionsgate a major headache with the risk of backfiring terribly, was molded into something meaningful for the fourth chapter.

AdvertisementThe Future Of John Wick In Chad Stahelski’s Perspective

A still from John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

During the same interview, Chad Stahelski further discussed the future of the titular character and his film series. Calling the whole thing a ‘myth’ and a ‘fable’, the director of the masterpiece said:

“Keanu and I like messing with people, so we’re just like, ‘Did John Wick die? Who died? Is it a ruse by Winston? Did he really die? Is it over, or is it just some ruse? What’s going on? How is John Wick gonna mess with you now?’”

Continuing, he said:

“The truth is you won’t know because we don’t know [laughs] because it’s a question mark in our heads, too. So, whether that’s clever or just being really obtuse, I don’t know. But it leaves a little room. Who knows, man? Never say never. If Keanu and I woke up tomorrow and had an idea, we’d be working on it right then. So, we’ll see.”

Turns out fans won’t be getting any definite answer for how many John Wick films still remain to be made and released for even Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski are unaware of that as of now!