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

Whether there will be a John Wick: Chapter 5 has been the burning question ever since there actually was going to be a John Wick 5 back when 4 and 5 were announced at the same time. However, the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 made it pretty clear to most that it would be tough to have a fifth movie and we’d have to survive on spinoff movies and TV shows. That is — until everyone started talking about a John Wick: Chapter 5 again, and it turns out 4 had an entire alternate ending where Wick unambiguously lived, which would have made it even easier to do 5.

“We had a different ending,” director Chad Stahelski said to Empire. “[The theatrical ending] was the ending Keanu and I wanted, but we shot a different ending. We shot an ending where you actually saw John Wick at the end of the movie. So it was very clear that he was still alive. The audiences we tested with absolutely preferred the ambiguous ending.”

Just how ambiguous the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 is can be argued, as the entire drive of the film is John finally finding peace and doing so as he “dies” on the steps after the movie’s final showdown. It’s clear why that 4 alternate ending didn’t test so well with audiences given that John Wick clearly living feels like a betrayal of not just this film but the entire series. However, what isn’t ambiguous is the amount of money John Wick: Chapter 4 made and the amount that Lionsgate would love to see a fifth film. The studio has already been very open about a fifth film being what they want, and both Keanu Reeves and Stahelski have openly said they’ve got ideas for a fifth film.

Of course, even if it doesn’t come, this isn’t the end of the John Wick universe (which needs a better name). They already have The Ballerina lined up, and we’ll be getting our first taste of the expanded universe when The Continental debuts in September.

Related: Where is John Wick Chapter 4 Available to Watch on We Got This Covered