John Wick isn’t the Boogeyman. He’s who you send to kill the Boogeyman, and he’s back for a third installment. The adrenaline-packed John Wick series will see Keanu Reeves reprise his role as the lovable assassin who’s brutal, yet stands on some pretty steady moral ground. The original John Wick movie was a surprise hit that netted more than $88 million worldwide back in 2014, followed by a 2017 sequel the brought in north of $171 worldwide.
Two years later, we’re gearing up for a third film, and this is everything you need to know about John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
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Courtesy of Lionsgate
The Meaning of the Title
So if you’re like us, and have no clue what parabellum means, Reeves cleared the air. In an interview, he said it refers to a Latin word that means, “Prepare for war.” He went on to say, “It’s part of that famous sentence, ‘Si vis pacem, para bellum,’ which translates as, ‘If you want peace, prepare for war.’” This falls right in line with Wick basically starting a war against an entire society of assassins.
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Courtesy of Lionsgate
Wick is Still on the Run
Spoiler Alert
John Wick: Chapter 2 finishes with Wick murdering Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) in the Continental. At the end of the last movie, he now has a $14 million bounty on his head in conjunction with being excommunicado with the Continental banning him from all related services. He’s given a one-hour grace period before the governing body of the assassin society begins to search for him. Parabellum picks up right after those events. Although it’s not confirmed if there are any other underlying plots in the movie, it’s guaranteed to be blood bath as Wick tries to escape New York alive.
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Courtesy of Lionsgate
The Cast is Stacked
Despite the film being named after it’s central character, John Wick 3 features a pretty stacked cast. We’ll see returning faces like Ian McShane (Winston), Laurence Fishburne (Bowery King), and Lance Reddick (Charon), in addition to a few newcomers like Halle Berry (Sofia), Jason Mantzoukas (Tick Tock Man), and Jerome Flynn (Berrada). Last but not least, 7’ 3” NBA player Boban Marjanovic was also cast as an assassin, and we’re praying there’s a face off between him and Wick.
— John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (@JohnWickMovie) May 21, 2018
Unfortunately, it was confirmed by Common that he won’t be reprising his role as Cassian from John Wick: Chapter 2. Cassian was one of the few fighters who actually presented a real challenge for Wick.
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Courtesy of Lionsgate
Halle Berry Becomes an Assassin
It looks like John Wick has finally found a partner in Halle Berry, who will be playing fellow assassin Sophia. Not much is known of her character, but according to the trailer they have a bit of history.
Wick: “Sophia, we’re not going in like the old days.”
Sophia: Nothing is ever just a conversation with you John.
— John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (@JohnWickMovie) June 4, 2018
Berry’s character is a welcomed addition to the movie especially since she’s an actual fan of the franchise. According to director Chad Stahelski, Berry approached him quite aggressively prior to there even being a script for the third movie.
Stahelski said when meeting with Berry for the first time ever she “sat down, goes, ‘I want a part in John Wick 3. I’m like, well, ‘That’s very flattering, but we don’t have a script yet.’ She said, ‘I don’t care.’ I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t even know if there’s a female [part].’ She’s goes, ‘I don’t care, I want to be in it, let’s party.’”
If that’s not a boss move, I don’t know what is.
This time around we will finally see Berry and Reeves star in an action film together. It was reported that Berry turned down the role of Annie Porter in Speed, which ultimately went to Sandra Bullock.
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Jun Sato / Getty
Returning Director
Director Chad Stahelski directed both of the first two films, and will be retuning for a third. In addition to being a director, Stahelski was also a stuntman. He also served as a body double for Reeves in The Matrix, and was the martial arts stunt coordinator for the sequels.
In the new trailer we see Wick flexing his infamous gun skills, ride a horse and a motorcycle, and roam what looks like an African desert. Here, the director walks you through the trailer.
As the movie has gotten closer to the release date, Lionsgate has dropped of an additional trailer filled with a bunch of new shots and epic battles.
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(L) Michael Kovac (R) Albert L. Ortega / Getty
Rumored Villains
News regarding the main villain of the film has been very sparse, but initial rumors placed Hiroyuki Sanada as the central villain. Lately, the buzz has been leaning toward Mark Dacascos (Zero) as the front runner. This is especially true as Zero and Wick have a brief face-off in the trailer. It hasn’t been confirmed that Hiroyuki Sanada is in the movie at all.
— John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (@JohnWickMovie) February 12, 2019
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James Devaney / Getty
Filming Locations
According to screenrant.com, so far filming for John Wick 3 has taken place in New York, Spain, and Russia.
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Bobby Bank / Getty
Behind the Senses Footage
For those who can’t wait to get a glimpse of the upcoming film, there has been some behind the scenes footage floating around. Here we see Reeves on his horse in New York, and preparing for a fight scene.
Early last year it was confirmed that the John Wick movie franchise will be turned into a TV series, The Continental. The show was picked up by Starz and will see Reeves switching roles as an executive producer, in addition to possibly appearing in the show. As the title indicated the show will focus more on the entire world, and hotel, rather than just Wick alone.
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Courtesy of Lionsgate
It Looks Like John Wick 4 is Likely
Although rumors have been circulatng that John Wick 3 would be the end to the trilogy, Stahelski loves making these films and doesn’t see an end to the franchise, and Reeves is also optimistic about the future of the franchise. In a recent interview in Entertainment Weekly, Stahelski said, “We create our own mythology, and we have a studio that both stays out of our way and supports us on the wacky decisions. If people go see the movie, and it makes money, and they came back to us, Keanu and I have ideas for days. I could live here for the rest of my career. If people like it and want to watch more, I could think of way worse ways to spend your career. But, you know, we’re in the entertainment business. We’ll let the audience figure that out.”
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Courtesy of Lionsgate
The Release Date
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum will be hitting theaters May 17, and according to IMDB, the film is predicted to net between $250-400 million worldwide.
