John Wick; A handy guide to who’s who in the franchise

OK, so you’ve seen the trailers, you’ve heard the hype, but let’s face it — you still can’t distinguish John Wick from a candle wick. 

Never fear, you’re not the only one. Here’s everything you need to know about the legendary hitman and his cohort of friends and frenemies before the latest flick in the franchise hits screens across the country. 

It’s been two long years since we last saw John on screen in John Wick: Chapter 2, so the anticipation for the third instalment has been intense. Yep, it’s been a minute. As the movie gods would have it, things in Wick-world have well and truly gone from bad to worse in the meantime. 

When we last saw John, he had just been ex-communicated from the criminal underworld for breaking the one rule of The Continental: no killing on hotel grounds (he killed a member of the High Table, a council for the highest-level crime lords in the world). Winston, John’s occasional ally, gives him a one-hour head start to get out of the city after a global contract for $14 million was put on his head. And that’s where we left off. 

In John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, our hero is on the run from a host of assassins — but not for long. This is John Wick, after all. With Reeves back in the main role, alongside co-stars new faces Asia Kate Dillon, Halle Berry, and Angelica Huston, and old friends Lawrence Fishburne and Ian McShane, the third chapter in the series promises more stunts and fight scenes, and more dogs than ever before.

Phew, now that you’re caught up, here’s the lowdown on all the new and returning characters in Chapter 3. It goes without saying, there are spoilers aplenty.

John Wick 

The man himself! John Wick (Keanu Reeves) aka The Boogeyman, is an ex-assassin whose life gets turned upside down when his wife, Helen, dies of a terminal illness. Before her death, she arranges for the world’s cutest beagle puppy to be delivered to John to help with his grief following her passing — and let’s just say, there’s not a dry eye in the house when he realises what she’s done. 

While trying to recover from the trauma of losing his wife, John takes his new puppy, Daisy, for a drive in his awesome 1969 Mustang. That’s when things get troublesome. 

A high-ranking member of the Russian mafia asks to buy the car, and when John turns him down, the dejected mob boss shows up at John’s house in the middle of the night with a bunch of his pals to beat the heck out of John and kill poor Daisy. Rude! It’s truly heartbreaking, so if you haven’t seen the first film, maybe consider yourself lucky. Poor doggo. 

Needless to say, the almost super-human John seeks revenge in a major way and the plot thickens. But hey, if you’re going to avenge the death of anyone or anything, a dog is a pretty good reason. By the time John Wick: Chapter 2 comes around, John takes off to Rome to kill the sister of an Italian crime lord but gets double crossed. On the plus side? He’s got a new pup in tow. 

Why the summary? Well, we don’t actually know much about John beyond the fact that he’s a lean, mean, killing machine. Thankfully, we’re about to find out a whole lot more about John’s personal life as the third film is said to be an origin story that explores his upbringing and past.

The Director

In helping us learn more about where John came from, a new character, The Director, might finally have some answers. According to director, Chad Stahelski, The Director (played by Angelica Houston) is said to be “someone who was responsible for Wick’s upbringing and his protection.” Fascinating. 

Sofia

Making her John Wick debut, Halle Berry joins the cast as Sofia. She meets up with John in the Middle East after he seeks her out and asks for assistance. We can tell from the trailer though that she’s not too keen on helping out, saying, “After this, we are less than even.” What can we deduce from this seemingly throwaway line? Well, it says the two have a history. Exciting! 

Most importantly, Sofia’s character has two doggos of her own, continuing the tradition of canine-based plot lines in the film franchise. “Whereas John’s puppy was symbolic of his wife, Halle’s two dogs are symbolic of someone she’s lost,” Stahelski told EW.

While speaking to Screen Rant, Reeves divulged even more info about the new character, saying, “I have her marker. So, she has some obligations that she might not want to fulfil.”

The Adjudicator

Played by Asia Kate Dillon, The Adjudicator is linked to the High Table — a.k.a. the criminal council. Based on what we’ve seen in the trailer, it seems she’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to new characters keen on killing John. 

Not sure where you’ve seen Dillon’s face before? You might recognise her from her role as Brandy in Orange is the New Black.

Zero

Talk about a villain with a vendetta. Mark Dacascos plays Zero, John’s main enemy throughout the film and another member of the High Table. Dacascos is best known for his roles in Iron Chef: America, Agents of Shield and Hawaii Five-0.

Winston

Returning for the third film, Winston (Ian McShane) is best known as the owner and manager of the Continental Hotel in New York City — a neutral zone for hired killers just like John. If anyone breaks the hotel rules and kills someone on the premises, it’s up to Winston to decide on the punishment for that person. 

Important storyline reminder — Winston gave John a blood marker in the second film to keep in case he ever needed a favour in times of grave danger… 

Bowery King

Laurence Fishburne returns as the underground crime lord, The Bowery King, but we’re not quite sure whose side he’s actually on in the latest instalment. He did help John recover from his extensive injuries in the last movie though, so you never know. 

John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum hits cinemas from May 16.