The iconic action scene in John Wick: Chapter 4, in which Keanu Reeves’ assassin character battles his way up 270 steps, was largely inspired by the 1973 horror film The Exorcist, according to Director Chad Stahelski, creating an intriguing parallel to the upcoming release of the Russell Crowe-led film The Pope’s Exorcist.
On a recent episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Behind the Screen podcast, Stahelski talked about how the scene was created. “The sun had barely fallen as we were [scouting] at the summit of Sacré Coeur. When we first peered down the steps, we thought, “Well, someone’s going down this.” Somehow, symbolic of Keanu’s character trying to claw his way toward death and rebirth.
“Literally, we were thinking that John Wick would have to fight his way up in addition to the fact that he was going down. We’re going to knock him back down, and he and Caine, played by Donnie [Yen], will get to the top like Butch and Sundance did. We’ll create the soundtrack and style it to look like a Western. To discover who kills who at the top, we’ll have him fight his way to the top and then bond.”
Stahelski went on to say that the John Wick action scene’s gloomy atmosphere, reminiscent of The Exorcist, was created by him and cinematographer Dan Laustsen, hinting quietly why John’s ominous presence in each frame hung so close to death. According to the director, “we put our cranes up to get some fill-in and tried to work backward from that with ambiance.” They used “as much practical lighting as we can from the lamp posts.”
John Wick Goes Four By Four (It Really Goes Ham.)
John Wick: Chapter 4 has established itself as a critical and financial success, similar to the initial three installments of the franchise. With a “Certified Fresh” rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, it actually has the best reviews of any John Wick movie to date. With a domestic gross of $74.5 million, John Wick: Chapter 4 easily won the box office on its opening weekend. It has still earned over $245 million globally.
John Wick’s Role In Ballerina Is More Than A Cameo
Naturally, Chapter 4’s box office success has rekindled Lionsgate’s interest in a potential fifth main-series John Wick movie. Plans for John Wick: Chapter 5 have been in limbo for a while, but even if the movie doesn’t get made soon, the broader series is expected to grow very soon. The Continental, a prequel series to John Wick set in the 1970s, will debut on Peacock in September, while Ballerina, a spinoff movie that takes place between John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4, will likely see theatres next year, is scheduled to follow in the same vein.
The Exorcist Is Back
The Exorcist, meanwhile, is scheduled to make a significant comeback this year. The Exorcist prequel will be directed by David Gordon Green, who also helmed the Halloween prequel trilogy for Blumhouse and Universal. On October 13, The Exorcist by David Gordon Green will be seen in theatres. Unverified rumors state that Linda Blair will return to the 1973 film as Regan MacNeil. In any event, the new Exorcist movie will be different from Green’s Halloween movies. It will retrospectively change the continuity of the franchise but won’t completely disregard the sequels.
The Exorcist, a 1973 horror film directed by William Friedkin with a screenplay by the late William Peter Blatty, was based on his 1971 horror novel of the same name. The Exorcist was regarded as one of the scariest films ever made, making a huge impression on the generation that viewed it. According to Cinefantastique Magazine, it did for horror what Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 picture 2001: A Space Odyssey achieved for science fiction. The Exorcist II: The Heretic and The Exorcist III, which were released in 1977 and 1990, respectively, are the two sequels to the first film. Exorcist: The Beginning and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, two additional prequel movies, debuted in 2004 and 2005, respectively. A television series simply titled The Exorcist aired on Fox for two seasons from 2016 to 2017 as a direct sequel to the original 1973 film.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is currently running in theatres.
