To work! Keanu Reeves, 56, left his Berlin hotel on Saturday with a freshly shaven face as he jumped into his car for another day of filming John Wick 4

Keanu appeared in high spirits as he went about his day and was sporting a wide smile as he chatted to fans before being whizzed away.

Opting for a pair of loose-fitting black trousers, the Matrix actor packed his belongings away in a rucksack which he wore slung over his shoulder.

He was also carrying an empty coffee shop bag.

Development on the latest entry in the action thriller franchise began shortly after the release of its third film, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, in May of 2019.

In April of last year, series director Chad Stahelski spoke to Collider and noted that the project’s creative team had set their bar much higher for the upcoming film from its inception.

‘We submitted an idea or thematic [plan] and it was really big. So, we’re talking about doing a little bit more than a [John Wick 4], or something like that, and trying to develop that,’ he said.

New look! Keanu has been sporting a bushy beard in recent weeks

The filmmaker also expressed that the development team had a relatively fleshed-out story in mind for the forthcoming feature and that they were glad to have a roadmap of sorts.

Stahelski said, ‘I’m in a happy place where we are in development…we’re in a place where we know what we want do and where we want to do it.’

The director then remarked that the planned film would not lose its action-focused core, as he and creative partner David Leitch regularly looked back on their past roles for creative inspiration.

Off her goes: Opting for a pair of loose-fitting black trousers, the Matrix actor packed his belongings away in a rucksack which he wore slung over his shoulder

‘I think Dave and I were both good at what we did as stuntmen and as choreographers. So, we don’t want to lose that,’ he stated.

Production for the fourth entry in the franchise will primarily take place in Berlin and Paris.

New York City and Japan will serve as additional filming locations.

The crew behind the film originally intended to shoot back-to-back for another John Wick feature, although this idea was later shot down, leaving the possibility of a fifth movie in limbo.

The fourth entry in the action franchise was originally scheduled to make its debut sometime this year, although the onset of the global pandemic forced the release date to be pushed back to May 27th, 2022.

The time change was partially done to avoid a potential conflict with Reeves’ upcoming science fiction-action movie, the currently untitled fourth film in the Matrix series.

Prepping for success: The series’ director also noted that the team had fleshed out a concept for the upcoming film, and expressed, ‘we know what we want do and where we want to do it’