John Wick 3 Producer Explains Why Winston Shot Keanu Reeves’ Hitman

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ends with Winston Scott seemingly betraying Keanu Reeves’ legendary assassin – a bit of skullduggery fans still debate to this day. Now, one of the 2019 action-thriller’s producers, Basil Iwanyk, has given us the best explanation yet for why Winston shoots John Wick.

Iwanyk broke down Winston’s motivations in John Wick 3‘s climactic scene in an interview with The Direct, arguing that The Continental’s manager wasn’t necessarily trying to kill our hero. At the same time, he also emphasized that everyone in the franchise is “a bad guy or villain,” and described Winston’s outlook as “transactional” (even if he does have a soft spot for John).

Related: When Does Ballerina Take Place on the John Wick Timeline?

“[F]or Winston, there’s never really one reason why he makes a move,” Iwanyk said. “In other words, he’ll make a move, and he’ll leave just enough openings to be able to repackage the move. And so I truly believe when he shoots him, and this is not a cop-out, I think there was one part of him that said, ‘Okay, this is going to get me good with the High Table, and I’m going to be okay, and we’ll live happily ever after.’ And then I think there’s another part of him that said, ‘Okay, I’m going to do this in a way where John could live because I may need him in the future.'”

“And because if he really wanted to kill John Wick… You don’t shoot a guy once and stumble and then he falls off,” Iwanyk continued. “You shoot him like five times […] so I think, yes, he did shoot him. And I think that if he died, I think Winston would be prepared for that, but I don’t think he was also that upset that he lived. He was playing the angles, playing. And Winston is always planning. There’s always what you think his agenda is, and the agenda underneath and the agenda underneath there.”

Related: John Wick 4 Had an Alternate Ending Where It Was Clear John Wick Lived

Ultimately, Winston’s scheming pays off. Not only does John Wick survive Parabellum‘s finale, but John Wick: Chapter 4 sees him and Winston reconcile. Together, they successfully go head-to-head with the High Table’s agents – but at the cost of Wick’s life (probably).

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is currently streaming on Hulu.