Laurence Fishburne may be noticeably absent from his iconic role as Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections, but that doesn’t mean that the acclaimed actor is done acting in big franchises. Fishburne is still set to star in the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4 in the role of the Bowery King. However, fans of the franchise recently got hit with some disappointing news with the announcement that the film got delayed until March 24, 2023.
However, according to Fishburne, the delay shouldn’t be a referendum on the film’s quality. During a conversation with Collider, the actor dropped a pretty bold claim about John Wick: Chapter 4.
“As a fan, not just as somebody who is in it, and this is based on reading the script, it’s going to be the best one yet,” Fishburne said.
All three John Wick films received overwhelming acclaim, so Fishburne set a pretty high bar. At the end of the third film, the titular John Wick is bruised and beaten before meeting with the Bowery King. Based on that ending, it appears that the fourth film will feature a team-up between Keanu Reeves’ and Fishburne’s characters. That would be mean the latter has a much more significant role than he did in the third film.
While the wait until 2023 will be agonizing for fans of the franchise, it’s an exciting development that Fishburne has such confidence in the script. Considering director Chad Stahelski is returning to direct, there’s no reason to believe there will be a dip in quality. That said, John Wick: Chapter 4 will be the first film not written by Derek Kolstad, the writer responsible for creating many of the characters in the previous three films.