The John Wick franchise has become a byword for doing action right. Spearheaded by a great central performance from Keanu Reeves, the series dishes out a reliable stream of artfully directed and choreographed violence that takes place in an enjoyably surreal world that appears to be largely run by assassins. What might be the final chapter of the cinematic franchise (though it’s coming to TV in The Continental), John Wick 3: Parabellum is currently shooting in New York and we’ve just gotten sight of a new photo (below) reuniting Winston (Ian McShane) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne).
These are both actors that practically ooze charisma and were one of many reasons why John Wick: Chapter 2 was a sequel that more than lived up to the original. The fact that they’re returning bodes pretty damn well for the production, too, as does the fact that Halle Berry is joining the series as Sophia, whose character is slightly vaguely described as “a woman on a mission.”
But what might that mission be? Well, given what we know, it’s most likely to kill the hell out of John Wick. Parabellum will reportedly find the assassin being hunted for a $14 million bounty on his life after breaking one of the most important rules in the assassin world: no business on the grounds of the Continental Hotel.
Apparently, the film sees Wick being given a generous one hour grace period before he’s excommunicated and all the assassins in New York City train their sights, prime their bombs and sharpen their throwing knives in the hope of a big Wick-shaped payday. Given that we’ve seen leaked on-set footage of John Wick being pursued through the streets of New York on horseback it’s sounding as if this going to be the most beautifully crazy installment of the series yet.
And if Fishburne and McShane are back? That’s just two delectably badass cherries on the delicious bloodstained cake that is John Wick 3: Parabellum.
