Ian McShane misses late 'John Wick' costar Lance Reddick 'dreadfully'

Ian McShane is still mourning the loss of his fellow John Wick costar Lance Reddick , who died last year at age 60.

The moment McShane will remember most from the franchise is one he shared onscreen with Reddick, he told a theater full of John Wick fans on Sunday in Los Angeles at a screening honoring the 10-year anniversary of the first film.

"Because he's no longer with us — another one that I will miss dreadfully," McShane said. "But we have Ballerina coming out, in which he'll [be seen] for the last time, we have that together. I thought we made a really good double act, as we say, in a sense. It was great, his relationship is different to mine with Keanu [Reeves] 's character. My moments with him, I think, I'll remember [most]."

Veteran actor Reddick, who was also known for his work on such TV series as The Wire , Fringe, and Bosch , died March 17, 2023, from heart disease, although the cause of death was later disputed by a lawyer representing the actor's family . He starred in all four John Wick films as Charon, the concierge of New York's hitman haven The Continental Hotel, opposite Reeves' titular gun-fu hitman. Franchise director Chad Stahelski and Reeves dedicated John Wick: Chapter 4 to Reddick, who died shortly before the film's release.

"We are deeply saddened and heartbroken at the loss of our beloved friend and colleague Lance Reddick," the pair said in a statement at the time . "He was the consummate professional and a joy to work with. Our love and prayers are with his wife Stephanie, his children, family and friends. We dedicate the film to his loving memory. We will miss him dearly."

McShane also shared a statement at the time expressing "total shock and disbelief" over Reddick's death. He added, "Lance was a wonderful human being and a wonderful colleague. My deepest condolences, peace and love to his wife, Stephanie, and all his family."

Reddick's character was (year-old spoiler alert!) killed onscreen at the start of John Wick: Chapter 4 , as punishment for McShane's Winston, the owner of the Continental, not murdering John at the end of the previous movie. As decreed by Bill Skarsgård 's villainous Marquis de Gramont, the Continental was blown up and Winston's friend and second in command, Charon, was executed.

According to Stahelski, who directed all four John Wick films, the decision to kill Charon was not taken lightly. "Lance has been a big part of our crew since the very beginning," Stahelski previously told EW shortly before the news of Reddick's death broke. "You never want to kill off a character just for a gag... But it's hard to do a movie about death and fate and consequences when there are no consequences. We tried doing it without that scene. We wrote many different versions, where other characters had been terminated. No matter which character we tried to kill, it just didn't come full circle as well as it did by having Winston sent on his own journey."

Stahelski revealed that he and Reddick spoke about the character's death scene and final line for a long time before shooting the sequence. "I didn't want to just say, 'You're going to die,' without thought," said the director. "We talked about it for weeks and weeks. And Lance was like, 'Well, can I at least say, "It was an honor to be with you, my friend?" Can I tie it in?'...Lance and Ian really put a lot of time and thought into it. That's when you see the quality of character that Lance Reddick has. He understands, and he's willing to do what's best for the film. Lance has made every one of these better because of his presence."

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Reddick will make his final franchise appearance in the upcoming spinoff movie Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas and also featuring Reeves in his last onscreen appearance as the titular dog-loving assassin, since it is set between the events of the third and fourth John Wick films (that is, before Charon's death). Ballerina centers on a new assassin (de Armas) trained in the Ruska Roma, one of the 12 international criminal organizations that holds a seat at the High Table in John Wick lore. Along with McShane's Winston and Reddick's Charon, Anjelica Huston also returns as the organization's Director in the new movie.

Directed by Len Wiseman and produced by franchise veterans Stahelski, Basil Iwanyk, and Erica Lee, Ballerina dances into theaters June 6, 2025.