It looks like the fourth film in the beloved action franchise may explore
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, starring Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, and Ian McShane, comes to theaters this week, hoping to further bolster Reeves’ resume as the greatest movie action star of all time. And while you may not have seen a movie in theaters since the last John Wick, you’re going to want to hire a sitter so you can watch the titular assassin creatively destroy anyone stupid enough to get in his way. But beyond wondering what Wick is eating in between ass-kickings, you may find yourself asking a key question: Are more John Wick movies coming?
It’s a fair question. After all, the John Wick franchise has managed to become an unexpected cultural phenomenon that is currently the biggest action series outside of the Fast & Furious (which, to be fair, is closer to a superhero franchise than action at this point). Plus, based on its title, you likely deduced that John Wick: Chapter 3 is in fact, the third John Wick movie, so a sequel wouldn’t exactly be a shock. Does Parabellum leave room for another sequel? Or is this the last we will see of the titular assassin? We have the answer.
WARNING: This post contains massive spoilers about the ending of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum so if you haven’t seen it, stop reading.
At the end of John Wick 3, Wick has survived the nonstop onslaught of trained killers and returns to the Continental Hotel to team up with Winston (Ian McShane) in order to fight off the High Table’s team of mercenaries. Winston manages to negotiate a peace offering with The Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon), a merciless High Table representative, by betraying Wick and pushing him off the Continental’s roof, presumably to his death.
Except, Wick, of course, is not dead and before his body can be recovered by the High Table, he is grabbed and taken to the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), an underground crime lord who was punished (cut six times) by The Adjudicator earlier in the movie for helping John Wick in the second film. The Bowery King is none too pleased with the way he was treated by the High Table and he seems to suggest that he and Wick join forces to take them down, leaving clear room for a fourth film that could even explore the larger Wick Cinematic Universe.
But will any of this matter? It will all depend on how well the film performs at the box office. Fortunately, John Wick: Chapter 3 seems primed to be a hit both with fans and critics, as the movie is receiving extremely positive reviews – it currently has a 94 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes – and looks to be heading to a nice score at the box office – most analysts are guessing an opening weekend at around $35 million. So unless the movie unexpectedly takes, it looks like John Wick will have a pretty easy path to getting another adventure. So don’t be surprised if we see John Wick sooner rather than later.
