John Wick Filmmakers Reveal the Characters They’d Love To Revisit for a Spinoff

Keanu Reeves’ time in the John Wick universe may be over (for now), but Chad Stahelski has several popular characters from the franchise he wants to bring back in new spin-offs. Over four movies, Stahelski (director), David Leitch (executive producer), and Erica Lee (executive producer) built an ever-expanding world of underground assassins. As Wick (Reeves) battled his way across the globe to clear his name and re-enter retirement, audiences were introduced to an eclectic ensemble of side characters. So far, the only characters to get a confirmed spin-off are an unnamed Ballerina from the Ruska Roma family in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, and Donnie Yen’s Caine from Chapter 4. But the creative trio have a lot more ideas tucked away.

Speaking to Screen Rant to celebrate the 10th anniversary of John Wick, Leitch, Stahelski, and Lee revealed which characters they want to revive from the past four movies. The trio dove deep into the annals of the John Wick universe. Director Chad Stahelski said he’d love to see John Leguizamo’s mechanic and David Patrick Kelly’s mysterious Charlie return. But the director’s true answer might shock some fans. Stahelski said, “Jimmy, I know we brought back in the second one. I f**king love Jimmy, the cop. He’s such a good actor, such a great guy too.” Stahelski rounded out his answer with the two most popular characters in the series, who fans are desperate to see return. Stahelski continued:

“I’d bring back Common, and
I’d bring back Halle Berry in a second.
“

Erica Lee also wants to see a fan favorite return. You might have forgotten that the first John Wick starred four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe as Marcus, a sniper who was close friends with the eponymous assassin. “Willem is just the best guy ever and such a great actor that I would’ve loved to bring him back.” Lee believes there is still a future for the franchise’s dead characters, including John Wick himself. She said:

“We killed Common in a way that I feel like we’ve debated if we could bring him back or not. And look how we left John Wick 4,
I think we could bring John Wick back.
“

David Leitch Feels John Wick Has Served His Purpose

While Chad Stahelski and Erica Lee have a nearly endless list of characters they’d love to see return to the franchise, David Leitch is happy with how things are right now. “I like them all so much, but they’ve all sort of served their purpose in the story,” the executive producer said.

Keanu Reeves will return to play a slightly younger John Wick in the upcoming spin-off, Ballerina. But John Wick Chapter 5 is still a major uncertainty, especially given the definitive ending to Chapter 4. Leitch hopes that the dead stay dead, as the end delivers the “emotional catharsis” that is necessary to keep these kinds of excessive action movies grounded. He continued:

“And I think when you’re telling a story, you have to pull at the heartstrings or you need emotional catharsis. And I don’t have any regrets. It’s like that first movie is so elegant in its execution and everyone came and delivered what they needed to deliver that it is what it is.”

Release Date

October 22, 2014

Runtime

96