Chad Stahelskimartial arts instructor turned stuntman turned director born to lead John Wick saga. The stars aligned when Stahelski’s paths crossed with the actor and John Wick star Keanu Reeves, a partnership that gave moviegoers one of the most sensational action movie franchises in decades. Stahelski continues his orchestration of intricate neon-lit action sequences and laconic choreography in John Wick: Chapter 4,. During an interview with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Stahelski breaks down one of those very scenes, explaining how they pushed the boundaries and how they put their love of music into the scene. He also clarifies the official John Wick timeline and explains why Chapter 4 has the longest time span between films.
According to Stahelski, Chapter 4 starts about six months after Winston (Ian McShane) fires at him from the side of the building and regains his position over the Continental. Six months pass before Vic regains his strength to face the High Table for his freedom. Along with Reeves and McShane, Laurence Fishburne And Lance Reddick reprise their roles as the Bowery King and Charon respectively, but Chapter 4 also delves into lore and introduces new characters such as Bill Skarsgard like the Marquis de Gramont. The Marquis represents the change in this killer’s underworld, and he has global alliances out for Wick’s blood, including those Baba Yaga considers close friends.
March 24, John Wick: Chapter 4 will expand on the mythology, introduce family ties, more dogs, and likely surpass previous films in terms of violence and action. Stahelski’s vision takes audiences around the world to breathtaking locations and raises the stakes for the titled legendary killer. The film also features Donnie Yen, Shamir Anderson, Hiroyuki Sanada, Natalia Tena, Scott Adkins, and more. You can watch the interview in the player above or read all about the upcoming club scene in Berlin in the transcript below.
COLLIDER: I’m very curious about how much time passes in the John Wick universe between the beginning of the first John Wick movie and the end John Wick: Chapter 4.
CHAD STAHELSKI: Good question. Well, we figured that the first three films almost came out in a week, a week and a half, somewhere in there. This is my version, I think Keanu is a little different and I think it’s about half a year later. So within a year, I think all this will happen. I would say almost within seven to eight months.
So the first three, you said it’s a week and a half?
STAHELSKY: In terms of time, this is almost a week and a half.
Have you ever thought about showing it on the screen?
STAHELSKY: Yes, indeed. I think it was in the second one, we actually thought about it between the two of them, but then we thought, “Ah, that’s stupid, we’ll just let people guess.” Because we didn’t know how badly we would hurt him. You know, after the third one, you’re like, “Okay, we can stretch him a little, but he really fell off the building,” and we’re like, “Uh, hip? Six months.”
In this particular interview, I want to focus on one thing, a Berlin action movie that has a ton of extras behind Keanu. For people who may not understand, there’s a reason why in movies you don’t see a bunch of extras behind your star because of issues.
STAHELSKY: It’s difficult to coordinate.
Can you explain to people this sequence and why it is so difficult to implement?
STAHELSKY: Well, when you have a lot of people, it’s a lot, it’s like quarreling with kittens. [laughs]and when you’re dealing with continuity, it’s not just them… Maybe if it’s just behind them and [there are] two people are sitting and drinking coffee, this is an easily repeatable movement if I am above you and see them. When you’re in a dance club and you have a particular song, you have a beat and at the same time - I don’t know why I did it, but we have flashing lights. So when you’re editing, you’re trying to find the rhythm of the light. So we have a light coordinator who tries to match the red, yellow, blue and green colors of the club with the same guy who does the music playback so that the rhythm hits at the same time so you don’t have 300 people and then another 300 people, in the wrong direction. Also, you have people who will look at the camera or not be in the right place or something like that. You know, there’s a whole host of other things that can go wrong when you’re trying to capture those action moments.
And then we thought, “Oh, let’s put a dog in there and film the fight scenes. And let’s put 44 waterfalls. Yeah, okay, let’s figure it out … “It’s not like that. [laughs], you need a lot. The resets were, probably, about … There will be a reset, we will shout, we will go, we will make an action, and then something will happen. We shout: “Cut!” The water leaves, the music stops, everyone must return, they return. So every time you do another take and reboot, that’s a good 10 minutes to get into a rhythm, fix the problem, and walk away. So now you’re stopping 100 times a night. It’s a lot of time.
But this time we were a little smarter, because I went and put together a dance troupe, some of the best modern hip-hop dancers or extreme clubs from Berlin, and we put together this little troupe, about 20 people. And we had, I forget what it was, but it was literally more than two dozen wardrobe changes for each of them, between men and women, and we continued to use the same 15-20 people in and around Keanu at each possibilities. At least they had the right rhythm and we had to constantly change their hairstyles. Then by the third night you know where the background players are that are paying attention and doing it right and you take that hundred and keep it close to the frame and the other 100 go far into the background so you know you sort of understand this is right. It was difficult, but the exit of the dancers was pretty cool. I think it was worth it in the end. Probably no.
Oh no, it was. This sequence is fucking crazy.
STAHELSKY: We’ll never get a chance… I love music and to try to work with music somehow, I think that’s how we got the club. We wanted to do another club scene, but in a different way, to tie water to it and all that. But then this idea grew into a DJ. For example, how do you get needle drops? How do you get all these great pieces of music in John Wick, which is usually very specifically composed? So we left the club saying, “Yes, we like music. It was really fun. We have to do something… DJ! We will have a DJ who will make an igloo. That’s it.” And that’s how we got to the Walter Hill thing. Warriors and things. Crazy.
John Wick: Chapter 4 in theaters March 24th. Check out our interview with Keanu Reeves below.
Source: Collider
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