When & Where Does ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Take Place?

The fourth installment of the highly successful action franchise John Wick is now in theaters. The latest action blockbuster is gathering positive reviews, showing that the John Wick franchise continues to deliver high-quality movies. Now we just need to wait to see if the box office numbers will be equally proportional to the high ratings that the movie is getting. In this article, we’ll dip our fingers into the timeline of the John Wick franchise to give you a clear answer on when and where John Wick: Chapter 4 takes place.

The first three John Wick movies are all connected, and their combined events happen in maybe one week, give or take. However, according to director Chad Stahelski, John Wick: Chapter 4 is set six months after the events of Chapter 3, when John Wick was shot by Winston and then went into hiding at The Bowery King’s place. John Wick: Chapter 4 is happening across multiple locations worldwide. While there are known locations like New York’s Continental, the movie also takes place in Osaka, Japan; Paris, France; Berlin, Germany; and the Morocco desert, where Chapter 3 also took place.

The original John Wick movie was released in 2014. While we can’t say for sure, it is expected that the first movie is happening in 2014, the year of the first movie’s release. We still remember when Aurelio joked in Chapter 2 about how John’s wrecked car would be good as new by Christmas 2030, referring to how much in bad shape the car was.

What is important to know is that the franchise’s director Chad Stahelski confirmed that the first three movies all happened within one week, while the six-month time jump was made before the events of Chapter 4 started. Blockbuster franchises, which John Wick certainly is, are known for filming at exotic and easily recognized locations all over the world. So in the next few paragraphs will look at all of them and see what happened and why each is important for the story of Chapter 4.

Spoiler alert for John Wick: Chapter 4!

Locations of John Wick: Chapter 4

The Continental, New York

New York’s Continental Hotel is definitely the first place you think of when you mention John Wick. The Continental is a worldwide chain of hotels that serves as the neutral territory for professional assassins and members of the criminal underworld. Winston served as the hotel manager for 40 years. After helping John Wick, the hotel was entirely destroyed by Maquis Vincent de Gramont, a member of the High Table who served as the primary antagonist of Chapter 4. A prequel series about the Continental is now in production, and it’s set to premiere on Peacock later this year.

Morocco

Morocco was one of the main locations in Chapter 3, but we saw it only for a short moment in Chapter 4. John returned to the desert to the only person who is above the High Table — The Elder. Although the Elder tells John that his death won’t change anything, John still kills him and leaves. That scene in the desert wasn’t too long, but it showed us how John is ready to end this war with the High Table.

Osaka, Japan

While on the run from the High Table, John visited his old friend Shimazu Koji, the manager of the Continental in Osaka. The High Table knew where John would go, so they prepared their finest to attack the hotel. John, Koji, and Koji’s daughter Akira defended the hotel, but Koji was ultimately killed by Caine, a blind assassin who was tasked by Maquis to kill John.

Berlin, Germany

Following the events that occurred in Japan, John briefly returned to New York to find out from Winston that he could deal with Maquis once and for all in a duel that would free him from his obligations to the High Table if he wins, of course. But since the duel can be requested only on behalf of a crime family, John goes to the headquarters of Ruska Roma in Berlin. John’s adoptive sister Katia promises him she will let him back to the family if he kills the murderer of her father, which John ultimately does.

Paris, France

After destroying the Continental in New York, Marquis Vincent de Gramont spent his time mostly in Paris, where he hired Caine to kill John Wick. The story’s conclusion ultimately brings John and the audience to Paris too, because that’s where a duel between John and Marquis was supposed to happen. Although Marquis hired every professional assassin in Paris to stop John from arriving in time for the duel, John managed to kill them all, giving us a few more action sequences that were some of the best in the franchise. Paris was the city where the movie’s third act and the ultimate conclusion happened, ending the story of John Wick.

John Wick visited a lot of locations during these four movies that the franchise has spawned so far. We already know we’ll return to Continental in a spin-off mini-series, and who knows what locations will Ana de Armas visit in the spin-off movie Ballerina. Although Chapter 4 finished John’s story, the John Wick franchise is still far from its end, and we’re looking forward to the next projects.