A legendary hitman endures new challenges in Director Chad Stahelski’s action thriller, John Wick: Chapter 4.
In the thrilling follow-up to the first three installments of the franchise, Stahelski’s film finds Wick forced to take his fight against the High Table global as he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld. With the price on his head ever increasing, he faces off against a new enemy with powerful alliances and forces that turn old friends into foes.
On April 8, after the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles, Stahelski discussed the making of John Wick: Chapter 4 during a Q&A moderated by Director Louis Leterrier (Fast X).
During the conversation, Stahelski revealed how his earlier work as a Second Unit Director and a Stunt Coordinator has informed his directorial style. “I grew up with the old Bond movies. You see the Ritz, and you’re like, ‘Wow, I need to be there!’ There is something powerful about being on location and I wish I could be a zero-to-one thinker and have a blank piece of paper and just write good ideas, but I think from all the second unit work and choreography and all the stuff I’ve done, I like going to a space and really see it. It’s fun to figure out the puzzle that you can reverse-engineer and it really was one of my team’s strengths. Getting a logistical space and enhancing it or trying to enhance it and expand on it.”
He also shared his thoughts on the art of collaboration. “If I’m the smartest person in the room, I’m in the wrong room. For me, it’s about surrounding myself with the best, most talented team out there, and not ever being afraid of being the worst guy in the room.”
Stahelski’s other directorial credits include the feature films John Wick, John Wick: Chapter 2 and John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. He has been a DGA member since 2010.