John Wick: Chapter 5 has a very tall task ahead of it, as it has to be a satisfying continuation of the series while also kicking off a new era for the franchise. There are plenty of ways to accomplish that, both by creating brand-new concepts and by cleverly using what the series has already set up.
The filmmakers have already confirmed that John Wick 5 won’t feature the High Table as the main villains, which means that there will likely be an entirely new threat for John to go up against. However, there are still a number of great ideas from the previous films that would be perfect additions to the fifth installment.
John Wick 5 Would Benefit From More ᴀssᴀssins Who Are Fans Of John
This idea was brought up in John Wick 3, most notably with the villain Zero, played by Marc Dacascos. In the film, Zero was shown to be a huge fan of John who modeled his entire career after him, and wanted to prove that he was just as good of an ᴀssᴀssin as the legendary John Wick.
Zero also had a pair of henchmen of his own, who were apparently also big fans of John’s, despite the fact that they were hired to kill him. During their fight, they seemed to hold a great deal of respect for John, even going so far as to help him get back on his feet after they knocked him down.
Zero’s henchmen in John Wick 3 were played by Cecep Arif Rahman and Yayan Ruhian, who are both Indonesian martial artists.
While it wasn’t a huge part of the movie, this aspect of these characters made their John Wick fight a lot more memorable, as they were able to differentiate themselves from the rest of the random goons that were trying to kill John over the course of the movie.
With Zero in particular, his character instantly became much more enjoyable to watch, as he wasn’t just another stoic, silent ᴀssᴀssin. The idea of being starstruck when meeting a personal hero is very relatable, and seeing that idea applied to a lethal ᴀssᴀssin managed to inject a splash of humor into a franchise that is usually very serious.
For John Wick 5, this kind of character would not only continue to add some fun layers to what could otherwise be a pretty uninteresting villain, but would also add to the progression of the world. After the ending of John Wick 4, John had bested the High Table, something that, presumably, very few ᴀssᴀssins have done throughout history.
That kind of story would undoubtedly grow John’s legend to an even greater degree than it already had been, making him the most legendary ᴀssᴀssin of all time. It would make a lot of sense for John to be even more revered, and that could easily be shown off in John Wick: Chapter 5 by including more of these fan characters.