The in-your-face action of the John Wick movies doesn’t only spotlight the titular man in black slinging bullets, dishing out knuckle sandwiches, and taking names. The entire saga has played host to a bevy of colorful and intriguing characters who are all just as brilliant to watch in action as the main man himself. John Wick’s story began earnestly enough, focusing on a man whose violent past catches up with him, and he reenters that world as a way to suppress his grief over a sudden loss. The follow-up films greatly expand the world of assassins he hails from, with John Wick: Chapter 4 serving as the culmination of the character’s journey.
Despite not actually being based on any previous work, the John Wick saga, with its impossible and highly organized underground world of professional killers stretching across the globe, has morphed into the archetype of a flashy comic book adaptation. The supporting characters are just as over-the-top as Mr. Wick, each with varying backgrounds that allude to intriguing histories currently shrouded in mystery. Because of these characters, the world of John Wick doesn’t have to conclude with his story. Here are five characters from the franchise that deserve their own spinoff movie.
Sofia
The scorned mother and manager of the Moroccan Continental unleashed her fury in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, one of the most popular John Wick movies. Sofia, portrayed by the inimitable Halle Berry, commanded two Belgian Malinois canines that were as fierce as they were loyal. When John Wick reenters her world, it’s clear that the two share a dicey history. Concerned for her own daughter (who has been hidden in a part of the world she’ll never know), she cares little for John’s plight. But she relents when he presents her with a marker indicating that she has a debt owed to him.
Sofia eventually leaves John in the desert so that he can find and speak to The Elder about erasing his excommunicated status. We never hear from Sofia again from that point forward. However, she surely caused a stir with her former boss, Berrada, who killed one of her beloved dogs. Prepared to kill Berrada in retaliation, she only spared his life thanks to John, but not before severely wounding the man. Surely, Sofia has her own struggles to deal with, and a film highlighting her story would only do the character justice.
Zero
The sushi chef and Japanese assassin Zero (Mark Dacascos) proved to be a formidable opponent for John Wick. Not only was he the supreme threat in Chapter 3 to John’s pursuit of staying above ground, but Zero and his forces also single-handedly dismantled the Bowery King’s operation and infiltrated the Ruska Roma crime syndicate undetected. At the behest of the High Table’s Adjudicator, Zero delivered exacting, but not fatal, punishments to both the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) and The Director of the Ruska Roma (Anjelica Huston).
As most of these assassins must be, Zero is clearly a tad sociopathic, as he takes joy in his bloody line of work. In fact, he is a big fan of John’s considering the killer’s violent history that earned him the title Baba Yaga. So, there is a bit of dark humor in the mix as we witness Zero “nerd out” over meeting his idol and aggressively chasing the dream of being the one to bring him down. Alas, Zero did not succeed. While Zero’s life was unceremoniously ended, there is so much more to this man than meets the eye. A prequel storyline could be in order that would detail his climb toward the good graces of the High Table.
Marcus
Do you remember Marcus? Played by Willem Dafoe in the original film, he was an unshakeable ally to John Wick in his pursuit of vengeance. John’s target, the son of the Russian mafioso Viggo, did the unthinkable: he killed John Wick’s adorable puppy (which was a gift from his deceased wife) and stole his prized Mustang car. Viggo knows the kind of hell that’s about to rain down on his family, so he contracts Marcus to kill John Wick. While Marcus seemingly accepts, he only does so to protect John when he needs it the most.
While Marcus is ultimately killed by Viggo after the crime boss discovers his treachery, he still has a story to tell via his fascinating background. In particular, the early history of the High Table and its organization of Continentals across the globe is ripe for discovery. A new actor could be cast as a younger Marcus, enabling further exploration into that world in a completely different time period, but with a familiar character. There’s always a chance we could see the Marcus appear in the Peacock original series The Continental alongside a young Winston.
Bowery King
Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King is a man with a chip on his shoulder and a penchant for rebellion. Sure, he understands the High Table, but does he truly respect it? Since his first appearance in John Wick: Chapter 2, we are given the sense that when it comes to his turf, he calls the shots. The King could care less about reporting up the chain to some higher command.
In Chapter 3, when the Adjudicator pays him a visit preluded by the slaughter of the Bowery King’s armed guard, he’s warned that aiding someone like John Wick to commit treason against the High Table is a crime that won’t go unpunished. He surely pays for his actions in blood, but not death. In fact, he’s still breathing by the time John Wick: Chapter 4 ends. Fishburne infuses the character with an often comical degree of overzealous wit and narcissism. He must be a man of intellect to maintain such a position, and placing the magnetic Fishburne in the leading role of a John Wick spinoff film would be a surefire way to attract loyal John Wick fans, as well as new viewers to the franchise.
Caine
Look, we could all watch Donnie Yen kick some serious butt all day long. This martial arts maestro is quick, fluid, and dazzling in his mastery of hand-to-hand combat on screen. The anticipation for John Wick: Chapter 4 was only heightened by the addition of Donnie Yen to the cast as the mysterious figure Caine. In the film, we learn that Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård), a member of the High Table, has commissioned Caine to kill John Wick, a supposed former friend and ally. Of course, Caine wouldn’t betray his friend if Gramont wasn’t holding Caine’s daughter as insurance.
Caine is, indeed, a spectacle to behold. As a blind assassin, he relies on audio cues and instruments to help him understand his enemies and where they’re located. Of course, Caine outlasted John in John Wick 4‘s final action scene, but by design. John ultimately sacrificed himself in an effort to bring down Gramont and enable Caine to retrieve his daughter. But one brief tease in the film’s post-credits scene suggests that Caine could be receiving a vengeance-fueled comeuppance for a life he had taken earlier in the film. Still, his fate is unclear. This could signal that Caine has a future. At the very least, he has a past — one where he is pals with John Wick. That’s a past we’d like to see on the big or small screen.
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