The opening scene of John Wick: Chapter 4 wasn’t made with CGI!

Keanu Reeves’ John Wick: Chapter 4 is easily one of the finest action movies ever made. With Mr. Wick on the run and wanting to revolt against the High Table, the stakes are as high as any John Wick film. This time, however, both Mr. Wick and Keanu Reeves had a little help.

In the opening sequence of the film featuring the Jordanian desert, the Middle Eastern sun hung lazily over the horizon. As Wick races on a horse and hunts down his rivals, director Chad Stahelski revealed that the scene wasn’t animation or CGI and that they had a little help from a certain king!

Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 4

Keanu Reeves And Chad Stahelski Had a Little Help From a King!

Shooting in the Jordanian desert, many people thought that the opening sequence of John Wick: Chapter 4 was CGI. Turns out, director Chad Stahelski revealed that it wasn’t CGI at all and that they had shot the scenes on the actual location!

The opening sequence of John Wick: Chapter 4

In a watch-along episode with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, the director revealed some interesting things about the 2023 movie. Stating that they had not used CGI during the opening scenes, Chad Stahelski revealed that Keanu Reeves’ Mr. Wick had help from a certain king to shoot an iconic scene!

“That is an actual sunrise in the Jordanian desert outside of Aqaba and Wadi Rum, so that’s not digital. I’m very proud of that. The King of Jordan lent us a helicopter to go out in the middle of the desert to get this sunrise shot.”

Although the director loves the character of John Wick, Stahelski seemed to mention that a sad ending was in fate for the character. In an early interview when the fourth film hadn’t even been released, Chad Stahelski mentioned that Mr. Wick cannot just walk away from the bloodbath that he has created!

Chad Stahelski Wants A Sad Ending For John Wick

Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves on the set of John Wick

Long before the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 showed us the alleged grave of John Wick, director Chad Stahelski already had a notion of the ending that he wanted. During an interview with IndieWire, the director secured Wick’s future by guaranteeing the people that he could not just walk off from the massacre!

“John may survive all this shit but at the end of it, there’s no happy ending. He’s got nowhere to go. Honestly, I challenge you right now, here’s a question for you: How do you f*cking want me to end it? Do you think he’s going to ride off into the f*cking sunset?”

He further continued,

“He’s killed 300 f*cking people and he’s just going to [walk away], everything’s okay? He’s just going to fall in love with a love interest?”

Although the fourth film in the franchise showcased the grave of John Wick, people are pretty sure that he is okay and just wants to cool off for a while. As for John Wick 5, the film is confirmed to be in development but no details are available. The 2023 film is available to stream on Starz in the U.S.