Tick, tock Mr. Wick … tick, tock.
John Wick director Chad Stahelski has previously mentioned the possibility of an extended version of the already-pretty-long Chapter 4. Now he has confirmed that he’s been working on the film — and that it makes the series’ longest film to date even longer.
Stahelski told Comic Book Movie that he has been working on the “Director’s Cut, the extended cut” and that he’s “almost finished” with the project. All told, he said, this new cut adds “10 to 15 minutes” back into the movie. The theatrical cut of John Wick: Chapter 4 ran 169 minutes — 15 additional minutes on top of that would put it over three hours long.
READ MORE: How Chad Stahelski made John Wick 4’s Incredible Stairwell Sequence
And that’s nothing; the very first rough cut of John Wick: Chapter 4 supposedly ran nearly four hours, meaning Stahelski cut out about an hour of footage for its theatrical release. Of that material, here was what Stahelski said getting put back in for the director’s cut:
We cut out a big chunk of Berlin, a whole character called The Frau, which is a pretty funny scene with John, and another scene between him and Tracker, a few other little action beats that we put back in. I mean, yeah, there’s always stuff we take out because it doesn’t fit the pacing. I think the stuff is all super quality, I love the choreo, I love the characters. It just didn’t – as a whole, it changed the pace of the film, and I didn’t think I could get, you know, two hour and 38 minute film in there if it felt slow.
Was John Wick: Chapter 4 long? Yes. Did it feel too long? No. Was it awesome? For sure. Would I watch a longer version of John Wick: Chapter 4? Hell yes, I would.
While the director’s cut of the movie does not yet have a confirmed release date, you can rent or buy John Wick: Chapter 4 (the theatrical version) on digital right now.
The Silliest Names for DVD Director’s Cuts
These movies couldn’t just call their DVDs “director’s cuts.” Oh no; that would be much too simple or normal. They had to choose these bizarre, confusing, inaccurate, and hilarious names instead.