Even though John Wick 5 is still years out at this point, there is plenty to speculate about, especially considering the recent news that the film is going to move away from the High Table storyline and focus on beginning a brand-new era for the immensely popular action franchise.
The biggest question about the sequel is undoubtedly what new threat John Wick 5 will introduce that can live up to the high bar set by the previous villains. While they will likely introduce a brand-new overarching threat that John will need to face off against, several past franchise villains would make great returning antagonists.
While most of the John Wick franchise’s major villains have either had direct connections to the High Table, making them unlikely to reappear, or have been killed off, one character in particular would make an excellent returning threat, even if they don’t become the main villain of the franchise.
Peter Stormare’s Abram Tarasov Should Return In John Wick 5
Even If He Isn’t Going To Be The Next Overarching John Wick Villain
The Tarasov family was the main villain of the first John Wick, which began with Iosef killing John’s dog and culminated in the epic fight between John and Viggo, leader of the Tarasov crime family. Abram Tarasov, Viggo’s brother, didn’t appear in the original film, only showing up at the beginning of Chapter 2.
While it made sense to grow the franchise beyond this starting point at the time, now, with a new direction in mind, it would be a great time to reintroduce them.
After his brother’s death, Abram took over control of the family and managed to get hold of John’s car after Iosef had stolen it. After killing his way through the factory, John made his way to Abram, where they finally made an uneasy peace, with John promising not to kill him as long as he got his car back.
Since then, the John Wick movies haven’t even mentioned the Tarasov family, as the stakes of the franchise outgrew the relatively grounded nature of the first movie. While it made sense to grow the franchise beyond this starting point at the time, now, with a new direction in mind, it would be a great time to reintroduce them.
As John Wick 5 is hopefully going to become more grounded, similarly to the first movie, with a less inscrutable and anonymous central threat, bringing back Abram as the head of the Tarasov family, whether he is looking for revenge or has another reason for going against John again, would help to bring back the feeling of the first John Wick.
Peter Stormare actually worked with Keanu Reeves before John Wick 2, acting as the main antagonist in the 2005 superhero film Constantine.
Stormare is also just an amazing performer with a very solid acting career, and seeing him reappear in this franchise with a much more significant role than his Chapter 2 appearance would be great. Even if he isn’t the main villain of John Wick 5, seeing his character return to the franchise would be an amazing way to kick off this new saga.
