John Wick: Chapter 4 star Ian McShane recently quipped that he filmed action scenes for the action-thriller sequel only for them to wind up on the cutting room floor.

McShane described the faux deleted scenes featuring his character, Winston Scott, during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers. "They did [give me some action scenes], but they cut them out apparently because they were [expletive]," he said. "No, really, they were. I started learning this ancient form of martial arts called McThai. It's a Scottish form of [martial art]... you wear a kilt, naked, and you run at them, and it terrifies them... I ran at [co-star] Donnie Yen and he ran the other way."

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While McShane's comments were clearly in jest, the English actor has previously expressed interest in taking part in the John Wick franchise's elaborately choreographed action set pieces. He might have to wait a while to get the chance, though, as director Chad Stahelski recently suggested that he and star Keanu Reeves aren't in any hurry to start work on John Wick: Chapter 5. "In our minds, Keanu and I are done for the moment. We're going to give John Wick a rest," Stahelski said. "I'm sure the studio has a plan [for John Wick: Chapter 5]. If everyone loves it and it goes kooky, then we'll take a quiet minute."

Critics Love John Wick: Chapter 4

If John Wick is indeed going on hiatus, the franchise is doing so in style. The early reviews for John Wick: Chapter 4 were overwhelmingly positive, with the consensus among critics being that the sequel is "[b]igger, badder, bolder [and] longer" than previous installments. Several reviews singled out the movie's brisk pacing and entertainment value (especially with regard to its many fight scenes). Reeves also garnered kudos, as did franchise newbies Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson and Rina Sawayama

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John Wick: Chapter 4's commercial performance is expected to mirror its critical success, too. Analysts predict the fourth entry in the action-thriller series will rake in $60-70 million at the domestic box office over its opening weekend. If this does indeed prove to be the case, John Wick: Chapter 4 will top the franchise record set by John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. That film posted $56.8 million in ticket sales over its opening weekend, before going on to gross $171 million in North America and over $328 million globally, making it John Wick's most profitable outing to date.

John Wick: Chapter 4 arrives in cinemas on March 24, 2023.

Source: Late Night with Seth Meyers, via YouTube