A wild John Wick 4 theory points to Ian McShane and Keanu Reeves being father and son.

SUMMARY

The climax of John Wick 4 hinted at a major family connection involving Keanu Reeves’ protagonist and Ian McShane’s Winston Scott.

Scott’s reaction in Russian to John Wick’s presumed death pointed to the fact that he could be the character’s biological father given his Russian heritage.

While Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski are a match made in heaven following their blockbuster film series John Wick, veteran star Ian McShane was an equally important character in the development of the narrative and its sequels.

The octogenarian’s character Winston Scott who is the charismatic owner of the New York Continental hotel, is integral to not only the plot of the film, but also serves as one of John Wick’s steadfast allies.

Keanu Reeves as John Wick
Fans of the franchise will know that Reeves’ protagonist is of Russian heritage and is linked to the Ruska Roma crime syndicate in the film. At the end of John Wick 4, audiences were presented with a huge hint indicating that Winston Scott may have a close familial connection to the titular character.

McShane though, continued to tease audiences about this theory while addressing it publicly.

Could Winston Scott Be John Wick’s Biological Father?

The John Wick films directed by Chad Stahelski is up there with Hollywood’s most successful action franchises. Over 4 films, Keanu Reeves’ assasin has faced innumerable challenges and killed thousands of people along the way in his quest to avenge the gruesome death of his wife and his dog.

One of his closest and most loyal allies is Ian McShane’s Winston Scott, the boss of the New York Continental Hotel which serves as a significant backdrop for John Wick’s rampaging acts.

Ian McShane’s Winston Scott is closely connected to John Wick
While the first 3 installments carried the two characters’ relationship forward one step at a time, the 4th film gave audiences a peek into a theory that made their brains go into overdrive.

In the climax of the film, McShane paid respects to John Wick who was presumed dead, with a fitting goodbye in Russian which translated to ‘farewell, my son’.

While this may merely indicate the character’s in-depth knowledge of the protagonist’s background owing to their close connection, theories pointing to him being John Wick’s biological father began to make the rounds among fans.

McShane for his part, was cleverly sly about the revelation stating that he knew nothing, while confessing to Screen Rant that the Russian touch was his input.

“But yeah, that was my idea at the end of that, to have the tattoo on my hand and to say in Russian, goodbye in Russian, “Dasvidanya, moy syn.” But, it’s just a tease to the audience, who knows what they’ll come up with.

As mentioned by McShane in the quote, hardcore fans of the franchise may have noticed that Winston Scott’s tattoos, although very minimally visible owing to the character always being in a suit, points to a significant link with John Wick that goes beyond friendship.

The tattoo which is a symbol of the Ruska Roma crime syndicate could mean that both characters may indeed be connected through a deeper bond.

Will There Be A John Wick 5?

It has been 10 months since the release of John Wick 4 and Chad Stahelski  has ensured that fans will not forget the film easily. With a larger-than-life Keanu Reeves back to reprise his iconic role, the director and actor proved that they have the Midas touch together.

While fans will be eager to see the Reeves-Stahelski magic in a 5th film, the director chose to be non-committal about this information.

Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves on the sets of John Wick
In an interview with Screen Rant in August 2023, Stahelski spoke about the various stars that had to align for the film to materialize, along with understanding the mind space of his lead actor Keanu Reeves in wanting to commit to the role once more.

“Keanu, if you ask him right now, ‘Would you do John Wick 5?’ He’d be, ‘f–k yeah’. But then he’d look and go, ‘Well, what is it? I have no f–king idea. It’s not like, ‘We’re going to figure it out today.’ Like, look man, we’re going to do our other stuff for a little bit.”

Now, with John Wick’s other big star Ian McShane also hinting that the 5th film is in the works, all eyes and ears will be on Stahelski’s announcement of the same.

Meanwhile, the franchise is ready to expand into various spinoffs, with Ballerina starring Ana De Armas touted to be the highlight of the 2024 summer.