“A new day is dawning…

“New ideas, new rules, new management…”

The Marques de Gramont

We absolutely love The Baba Yaga, can’t get enough of him, want more of him, NEED more of him, hands down one of our favorite characters in film to date.  (Thank you Keanu)  In “John Wick: Chapter 4” he pits himself against The High Table seeking revenge, kicking ass, driving fast and taking fans on a thrilling, non-stop ride of mayhem and death.

French illustrator/ designer Julien Rico Jr. collaborated with Lionsgate and designed 21 cards featuring key elements from the film.  We reached out to Julien to get some insight on this project and here is what he had to say.

B+: Hey Julien, we want to pick your brain a bit about this incredible project.  What is it that you like about the John Wick films?

JRJ: Regarding John Wick, I’m a big fan of Keanu Reeves, his story and his humility and humanity.  I admire the “artisanal” side that John Wick films offer with real stunts and a real love of cinema.  Honest action films, superbly choreographed, beautiful and strong colors palette through each chapter.

B+: Let’s be honest, it is impossible to not like Keanu.  One of the biggest stars on the planet and still so grounded, humble and he just seems like an incredible individual. DAMN, I wish we could hang with him!  So how did this project come to be?

JRJ:  For this project, the Lionsgate team came to me to design Arcana Tarot Cards based on the main characters and places from Chapter 4.  I got to work with amazing creative freedom and trust for the creation of the cards, mixing graphic elements and illustration as my style and my creative approach is.

B+: That’s huge!  So many times the studios have extremely specific needs or wants, and understandably so, but for them to cut you loose must have been so rewarding.  It’s like them saying, “We love what you do, here is a general direction, have fun.”  Quite the stamp of approval.  So how long did this project take?  I mean, seriously, 22 cards is no joke. That is a recipe for writers cramp/ arthritis. 

JRJ: The project was spread over almost 3 months for a total of 22 cards.

B+: We are still trying to wrap our head around 22…unique….artistic…. cards.  So we’ve established a solid baseline, Keanu/ John Wick is incredible.  Who was your favorite character OTHER than the Baba Yaga?

JRJ: My (other) favorite character was Shimazu played by Hiroyuki Sanada.

B+: This movie is SO stacked with incredible performances from Donnie Yen (Caine) to Bill Skarsgård (Marquis Vincent de Gramont) to Rina Sawayama (Shimazu Akira) and the list goes on from there. Hiroyuki WAS great in it though. He was also great in 2013’s “The Wolverine.”  So, can fans get these cards / art anywhere?

JRJ: The cards are currently not available for sale, but they were used for events before the release of the John Wick 4. But never say never.

B+: Son of a…. where was our invite to one of these events!  Anything else you can say about the project?

JRJ:  I would say that my approach was to wink at classic tarot cards while finding subtleties and strong symbols to obtain an original set of cards that is both classic and modern.

Huge thank you to Julien for taking the time to take us behind the scenes for this project.  Be sure to follow him on TWITTER and INSTAGRAM to see what else he is working on.

If you are like us, you are wanting to see John Wick: Chapter 4 again and good news is that it will be released on digital  May 23 followed by a Blu-ray, 4K, DVD, on June 13.