Keanu Reeves has revealed the touching reason why he keeps returning to star in the John Wick films 10 years on from his debut as the titular character.

The stars were out in force for the John Wick: Chapter 4 premiere in London on Monday night where the actor, 58, chatted about the film.

He said of why he still plays the role: ‘I like his humour, I like his will, I like his grief and it’s really fun to play him in these films, these films are fun.’

Suggesting that the character of John tested his limits, Keanu added to Metro: ‘I try really hard, but with John, you have to try just a little bit harder.’

At the premiere Keanu led the arrivals and looked dapper in a dark green corduroy suit while leading ladies Natalia Tena and Rina Sawayama cut glam figures.

Nearly a decade after Keanu’s John Wick went on a deadly rampage after his beloved dog was killed, the assassin may just have a new four-legged friend in the final trailer for John Wick: Chapter 4.

The first John Wick film found the title character living a peaceful life in retirement, with an adorable dog as his companion, a final gift from his dying wife.

When a group of assassins made the mistake of killing his beloved pooch, the hitman Wick came out of retirement and went on a bloody rampage.

Now John is fighting for his very life, trying to take down the mysterious hitman organization known as the High Table in the final trailer (via Lionsgate Movies)… which comes in the midst of ‘Wick Week’ which was kicked off with the news that the movie will be nearly three hours long.

The trailer features the 2001 Nas track Got Ur Self a Gun (which samples The Sopranos theme song Woke Up This Morning) and teases the new canine friend as well.

The trailer opens with a mysterious DJ cueing up a song, stating, ‘This song goes out to you, Mister Wick,’ as she plays the new Nas track.

Wick is seen meeting with The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), who presents him with a new (likely bulletproof) suit, adding, ’42 regular, wasn’t it?’

‘Yeah,’ Wick says, as Winston (Ian McShane) adds, ‘And so it begins,’ as we see Wick taking out a number of assassins at a packed nightclub.

Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada) is seen briefly, as is Marquis (Bill Skarsgard), as Winston tells John, ‘Challenge him to single combat.

John is seen meeting with Marquis at a cafe overlooking the Eiffel Tower in Paris, as Marquis tells him, ‘If you win, you will have your freedom,’ though it’s still unclear who John’s opponent is.

Another shot shows Akira (Rina Sawayama) stabbing a man with two knives as he crawls up a flight of stairs, while we see more shots of John taking on multiple enemies at once on a rooftop.

We get a new glimpse at Charon (Lance Reddick) plus another shot of John in another gunfight in a rainy nightclub.

John is seen driving his black Boss 429 Ford Mustang (with no driver’s side door) as we get a glimpse at a new character dubbed Killa (Scott Adkins) saying, ‘The Baba Yaga,’ and laughing.

We also get a new look at Caine, played by martial arts legend Donnie Yen, whose seen showing his proficiency with a samurai sword, along with a glimpse at Shamier Anderson’s Tracker.

The Elder (George Georgiou) is heard saying, ‘The only way John Wick will ever have freedom and peace is in death,’ as John is seen on horseback riding out in a desert to see The Elder.

‘Yeah, not really,’ John says to his supposed prediction before pulling a gun on him.

John is seen in another gunfight near the chaotic Champs-Élysées in Paris, overlooking the Arc de Triomphe… when he finds a surprising ally: a new dog, running over the roofs of cars and biting the arm of a man trying to kill John.

The final shot shows the dog looking up at John with a whimper as John looks back at him… as the trailer comes to an end.

John Wick: Chapter 4 also stars Natalia Tena, Aimee Kwan, Marko Zaror and Clancy Brown, arriving in theaters March 24.

It will only be going up against IFC Films’ The Lost King starring Sally Hawkins, though there are no box office projections available at this time.

Lionsgate also has the John Wick spin-off Ballerina in the works, starring Ana de Armas with Reeves also returning as John Wick.