OTTplay Now You Know - John Wick: Chapter 4

Keanu Reeves is back as the deadly John Wick for the fourth instalment of the John Wick franchise. John Wick: Chapter 4 has been lauded as one of the best action films in recent years, and the best of the franchise. So for today’s Now You Know, here are some lesser-known facts about John Wick: Chapter 4, directed by Chad Stahelski.

1. The film features a few scenes in Paris subway stations, and one of these scenes involves John Wick meeting the Bowery King, played by Laurence Fishburne, and Ian McShane’s Winston. This station is the "Porte des Lilas", which is not used by the public but remains functional solely for the purpose of shooting films and TV shows.
2. The opening scene of the film features John Wick hunting down unknown assailants on a horseback in the middle of a desert. This scene is actually shot on location without a green screen or VFX, and it is the same place where a scene from Lawrence of Arabia was filmed.
3. The 58-year-old Reeves endured 12 weeks of intense training in several martial arts and stunt driving so that he can perform a vast majority of the scenes without the help of a stunt double.
4. Director Chad Stahelski was unaware that actress Rina Sawayama, who plays Akira in the film, was a popular pop star in Japan. He came across one of her videos on YouTube by chance, and decided that she would be the perfect choice to play Akira. She was offered the role within 24 hours, and it looks likely that Akira will play a vital role in the upcoming spin-offs.
5. Acclaimed Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada was initially eyed to play the role of Zero in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, but the role eventually went to Mark Dacascos. Sanada would land the role of Shimazu, the manager of The Continental Osaka in John Wick: Chapter 4.
6. Some of the most memorable scenes in the film are a few single-shot action sequences from a bird’s eye view, where John is seen blasting armed assailants with a dragon's breath shotgun. Director Chad Stahelski revealed that these scenes were inspired by the video from the 2018 video game Hong Kong Massacre.

Well that's the OTTplay Now You Know for today's episode, until the next time it's your host Nikhil signing out.

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• Written by Ryan Gomez