John Wick is quite a distinctive franchise. Being beloved by the fans, it has had a massive impact on the action film genre through its unique concept, method of storytelling, and characters. Keanu Reeves, who plays the titular character, did it in a way that captivated audiences to such an extent that this film series has turned into a franchise, with multiple films, spinoff films, as well as series having been released and scheduled.
Being as successful and beloved as it is, it is not surprising that the decision to kill the main character of the series was one that did not come without pushback from the fans. During an interview, the director of this film, Chad Stahelski talked about why he took this decision and dropped a sad truth for fans of the character.
Chad Stahelski Teased The Ending Of John Wick
During an interview with IndieWire, Chad Stahelski answered the question of whether would it be possible for the character of John Wick to have a happy ending, long before the fourth film came out and his fate was sealed. The director explained that this would not be possible for a character such as this, considering how much bad he has done on screen.
“John may survive all this shit but at the end of it, there’s no happy ending. He’s got nowhere to go. Honestly, I challenge you right now, here’s a question for you: How do you f*cking want me to end it? Do you think he’s going to ride off into the f*cking sunset? He’s killed 300 f*cking people and he’s just going to [walk away], everything’s okay? He’s just going to fall in love with a love interest?”
He explained that with how many people we have seen this character kill on screen, it would not be right, morally, for him to finish the series having a happy life, which included a love interest or riding off into the sunset. By saying this, the director teased the ending of the film, where Keanu Reeves’s character dies.
Chad Stahelski Delivers Bad News
Chad Stahelski then went on to hypothesize what it would be like to be this character. He stated that with how many people he had caused harm to, how many lives he had taken, and how many enemies he had made, leading to a peaceful life with a happy ending seems unrealistic. Elaborating on this, he stated that at some point or the other, this would catch up to him and end up taking his life.
“If you’re this f*cking guy, if this guy exist[ed], how is this guy’s day going to end? He’s f*cked for the rest of his life. It’s just a matter of time.”
While this is quite harsh, it would be unfair to say that what Stahelski is saying isn’t true. In a series where the true bad are punished in the cruelest way possible, it would seem hypocritical and unfortunate that the same standard isn’t put on everyone, regardless of whether or not they are the protagonist or not.
