John Wick: Chapter 4 to explore deeper high table lore and more ninjas

John Wick: Chapter 4 will see a new breed of ninjas.

Director Chad Stahelski teased that the upcoming movie will be a deeper exploration of the franchise's lore and see the titular character fight against new enemies.

"I love mythology," Stahelski told Variety. "I love a good myth. I don't really believe – at least for the John Wick movies – in a three-act structure. I believe in storytelling and leaving it.

"You know, we've always seen John Wick as Odysseus. So we take the time we need to tell the story. As long as we don't fall asleep watching it, we keep it going. But I guess there is a bathroom limit."

In John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Wick's "excommunicado" status forced him to battle a ninja clan led by assassin Zero (Mark Dacascos), who The High Table – the John Wick assassin culture's mysterious leadership – assigned to punish everyone guilty of aiding Wick's actions.

In addition to Zero, the film featured an extended fight between Wick and his two top Shinobi, played by acclaimed The Raid actors Cecep Arif and Rahman Yayan Ruhian.

When asked how Chapter 4 will top Chapter 3's action scenes, which ranged from Wick fighting Boban Marjanović in the New York Public Library to evading sword-wielding ninjas via motorcycle chase, Stahelski jokingly suggested "Ninjas in cars, I guess,".

"I don't know! It's always ninjas, man," he admitted.

While no ninjas have been officially named in John Wick: Chapter 4, the film's first teaser trailer featured scenes of men armed with bows and arrows and shows Wick shooting a goon through a car window.

It also teased Wick using a variety of tools from axes to nunchucks, as well as Donnie Yen's new character, Caine, engaging in a sword fight against Reeves and Hiroyuki Sanada's Shimazu.

The first look image also teases a skull-bashing action scene.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is said to be the longest film in the series and is currently slated to release on May 23, 2023.

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This article was first published in Geek Culture.