Warning: This post contains spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4. John Wick: Chapter 4 director Chad Stachelski reflects on the protagonist’s death in the film’s opening moments. after the events John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and because Winston Scott’s (Ian McShane) failed to properly kill John Wick (Keanu Reeves), the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) took over New York’s Continental Hotel and stripped Winston of his position as manager. To teach Winston a lesson, Marquis blows up the hotel and shoots Charon (Lance Reddick) dead, and Winston is supposed to be the one.
in a recent interview with The Hollywood ReporterStahelski discusses one John Wick: Chapter 4, and explains why it opens with Charon’s death. The director also thought about it Reddick’s real lifeHe noted that the moment the audience sees the film will be a little heavier, but there is no other way for Winston and John to think about their friendship and release themselves until its climax. Check out what he had to say about it below:
“Unless Charon dies, you don’t get the Winston catalyst. You don’t understand the cathartic nature of John Wick releasing himself for someone else. It’s all about friendship, friendship, friendship. It’s all about friendship lish and we did it. ‘I don’t want to do the usual tropes of adding a love interest… That was the original title of the film Hagakure, this Japanese code of conduct among samurai. It was about how only a samurai can know another samurai, only a policeman can know a policeman, only a thief can know a thief. It’s that binding thing, and without Charon being killed, everything isn’t set in motion. John must also be responsible for things. When Hiroyuki Sanada’s character says, “Well, they executed his concierge,” I need that to start John Wick’s journey or end John Wick’s journey.
How John Wick: Chapter 4 honors Lance Reddick
As Stahelski explains THR interview, Charon’s death takes on a deeper meaning as the audience learns about it Reddick died suddenly A week before the film’s release at the age of 60. A character’s death not only serves as a catalyst for how the film ends, giving each of the main characters a sense of closure and peace, but it also forces them to reflect on their friendship with the concierge. When Wick visits the tombstone, he talks to Winston about how good he is, that he never looked down on the killer when everyone was hunting him in the previous two episodes.
However, in the film’s most emotional scene, Winston and John contemplate Charon’s death on their way to the duel between Wick and the Marquis. Winston explains that he doesn’t know what to write on Charon’s tombstone, but “My friend“because “He was above all else. A friend.” While the scene wasn’t an intentional send-up of Reddick, it sums up what the filmmakers and cast have been saying about him over the past week.
To Stachelski and Reeves, Reddick was more than a great actor and colleague, but a close friend who always cared about everyone he worked with. Reddick not only left an indelible mark John Wick franchise, his character is heavily involved in the events of the final installment, but the cast and crew all have nothing but praise for the actor who brought Charon to life. Before his death, Reddick reprized the role of Charon for the last time in the Len Wiseman film Ballerinawill be released in theaters next year. John Wick: Chapter 4 dedicated to his memory.
Source: THR