With yet another John Wick sequel on the horizon, and a few spin-offs as well, the Wickiverse is expanding rapidly. What began as a simple tale about an angry ex-hitman getting revenge has quickly turned into a franchise due to its popularity. However, with this rapid expansion come several questions about how well this story can hold up as it expands beyond the titular John Wick. Is it this world of assassins and secrets that have kept fans enraptured for years, or was it Keanu Reeves in the leading role?
Based on a script written by Derek Kolstad in 2012, John Wick came out in 2014 to be a surprise hit. Telling the story of an ex-hitman who gets revenge on the crew who stole his car and killed the dog that was a gift from his recently deceased wife, John Wick also served as the resurgence of Keanu Reeves’ acting career. Featuring stylized fights, near-perfect cinematography, and a compelling enough story to weave it all together, John Wick served as both an homage to classic action as well as pushing the genre forward.
Following the success of this first film, a sequel was immediately greenlit and Keanu Reeves once again became a household name. While the second film didn’t land quite as well as the first, it still hit with the fanbase and spawned a third. The overall success of the movies has led to the classic Hollywood “all-in” approach wherein they continue investing in a popular property until it has diminishing returns.
In addition to a fourth and fifth movie with Keanu on the way, there are also two spin-offs that don’t feature Keanu in the lead role. The Continental is a prequel series set in the 1970s about the hotel chain for assassins that Wick uses regularly in the main trilogy. While there have been rumors that Keanu could cameo in the series, the timeframe makes this seem less than likely. The hotels in the movies were part of the world-building and loved by many of the fans, however, a show just set around the hotels might not work as well. It’s possible there is enough interesting that could be done, but it’s also likely that fans could lose interest without Keanu guiding them through.
Ballerina is another spin-off film starring one of the ballerina assassins, learned about in John Wick Chapter 3, getting revenge on those who killed her parents. While this story sounds right in line with the John Wick franchise from the outset, there are some inherent problems with this. This story being a little too similar to the original John Wick might come across as too repetitive to fans, and this will likely send some people away just from the description.
Another issue that arises with this particular story is that the ballerinas being trained as assassins is very similar to other stories that have already been done. The movie Red Sparrow with Jennifer Lawrence as well as the recent Black Widow solo movie both covered Russian training programs that initiate young girls into being deadly assassins. These are both based in real-world rumors of Russia having a program to do something very similar. The ballerinas in the John Wick universe are also based in Russian influence. The similarity is likely to make audiences feel as though they’ve already seen this film, even if it is done well.
Another aspect of this spin-off film that unfortunately holds it back is the director. Len Wiseman was signed on early into the film’s production. He is the same director behind the first two Underworld movies, Live Free or Die Hard, and the Total Recall reboot. These movies haven’t been received very well, although they do feature well-regarded action sequences within them. Although this movie might have a stellar script behind it, there sadly doesn’t seem to be enough solid ground for it to stand on.
In the end, it seems as though the question of whether or not John Wick movies work without John Wick seems to be a broader question than just that. How can these movies and spin-offs truly differentiate themselves from other action movies and shows without Keanu in the lead? The scripts behind them and the ideas behind them seem to find better roots in the likes of B-movie action stories rather than among the John Wick franchise. Those main movies, even if they take after other action movies or aren’t quite as solidly assembled, are almost completely sold by the love audiences have for Keanu Reeves these days. It’s possible that very soon that love will wear off, and even the main franchise films won’t hold up to scrutiny. It would be a sad end to the story of John Wick, however, it’s unfortunately nothing new in the world of Hollywood.