The New John Wick 4 poster features an awesome optical illusion

John Wick 4 Poster Optical Illusions

(Image credit: Summit Entertainment/Future)

If you feel that film posters aren't what they once were, you're not alone. Fans have been decrying the banality of the ubiquitous 'floating heads' design for years now, and genuinely original ideas seem few and far between in 2022. But the new John Wick poster is bucking the trend.

At first glance it looks like a simple headshot character poster, but look a little closer and you'll see that John Wick's tie is in fact a hourglass. And it's filled with bullets, because why not? And that's not the only visual flourish – the logo also features an ingenious design touch. (Looking for more inspiration? Check out the best print ads of all time.)

John Wick 4 poster

(Image credit: Summit Entertainment)

The hourglass tie is certainly a clever optical illusion, and injects some nice drama and mystery into the proceedings (the obvious reading being that time's running out for Mr Wick). And as sartorially-minded among you will know, the hourglass knot is one (rather ostentatious) method of tying a tie – so extra points for ingenuity there.

But the fun doesn't stop there – even the tiny logo in the bottom corner of the poster features a clever hidden message. Highlighted in the JW initials are the numerals IV, denoting that this is indeed John Wick's fourth attempt to escape the clutches of the villainous High Table.

While modern film and TV posters are often disappointing, we've seen a few corkers lately, from that beautiful Dune teaser to that brilliant Japanese crime drama poster.