Will There Be More John Wick Spin-Offs? Producer Says Yes, And That's A Great Thing [Exclusive]
This post contains spoilers for "John Wick: Chapter 4."
The latest installment of "John Wick" ended on a somewhat ambiguous note. Looking at just the surface, it sure seems like John Wick is dead and gone. But if you know anything about franchises, you'd understand that no character is truly dead unless we get to see the life leave their eyes, and sometimes even that isn't enough. In this series specifically, a shot to the head is the only thing in the world we can trust to kill John Wick.
But let's assume he is dead for a moment and ask ourselves, can the franchise survive without Wick at the center? After this latest film, the answer seems like a clear-cut yes. The movie introduces Akira (Rina Sawayama), who's now motivated to get revenge on Caine (Donnie Yen) for killing her father. It's easy to see a movie centered around these characters; it could be a lot like Quentin Tarantino's vision of a third "Kill Bill" film, one that would've centered on the daughter of slain Vernita Green growing up and getting her revenge on the Bride.
There's also the mystery around characters like Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson) and Sofia (Halle Berry), two dog-owning assassins with unspecified origins. And then of course there are characters like Winston (Ian McShane) and the Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon), two powerful figures whose lives we've only gotten a glimpse of.
These questions of what to do next are now more pressing than ever, because /Film's own Vanessa Armstrong recently interviewed Erica Lee, a producer for the series, who confirmed, "Yeah, we're definitely developing more spin-offs."
The world and the dogs
Lee explained further: "I think it's asking, 'What are the characters that stand out in the films that pop, that have an interesting story to tell, who are still alive?' We kill a lot of people." Admittedly, that's a major limitation; when a character dies, the spin-off potential theoretically dies with them. But for Lee, most of the spin-off opportunities have to do with the worldbuilding, not the people: "The Continental was something that we always were really interested in. The Bowery King and the Underground, what is that world like? [...] These are just things I personally would love to explore. And now that 'John Wick 4' will be out in the world, I think even more ideas will start flowing."
Beyond the fascinating, not-fully-explained rules of the world, another main source of interest is the dogs. "Where do these dogs come from? How do you get them? What is a tracker? Where is he trained? I don't know, these are just things we think about and talk about," Lee said. And it's easy to why: Dogs are the heart of the Wick universe. Harming a dog in these movies is an unforgivable sin, just like how declining a cup of coffee in "Twin Peaks" is a sure sign that you're not to be trusted. In a world where everyone's soul is a little corrupted, the dogs in this series are pure and happy, to be protected at all costs. Whatever the creators choose to do for their first spin-off film, as long as there's a dog in there somewhere, I know I'll be watching.