On the surface, the “John Wick” franchise seems like nothing more than a star vehicle for Keanu Reeves. However, the films have surprisingly complex world-building. The underworld of assassins is governed by strict rules; it is a business, after all. With each sequel, the action scenes get bigger and the rules gain more clauses.
In the first film, the extent of this was the Continental Hotel; a hub for assassins in NYC run by Winston (Ian McShane) and his concierge Charon (Lance Reddick). On the Continental’s grounds, no business may be conducted with the penalty of execution. In “Chapter 2,” we learn the system is global and run by a “High Table” of assassins. “Chapter 2” demonstrates this by showing workers in different offices across the globe relaying information to each other.
We also see the punishment of “excommunicado” status when Wick violates Continental rules. In “Chapter 3,” the High-Table’s Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon) decides to invade the Continental for harboring Wick. Before the attack can begin, she has to ring up an office manager (Robin Lord Taylor) and have the hotel officially “deconsecrated.”
“John Wick: Chapter 4” will continue this trend with the new villain, Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård). In the trailer, he promises “New management” in a fittingly French accent. In an interview with Total Film, director Chad Stahelski and Skarsgård discuss the “bureaucratic evils” of the Marquis.
Skarsgård described his character to Total Film as such:
“The Marquis is a young man of unknown origin who has quickly climbed the ladder within the High Table doing god knows what. I always saw him as someone from the gutter that now savors the glittery suits he’s wearing. He functions as the new sheriff set out to rid the world of John Wick once and for all.”
This description makes the Marquis sound like a dark mirror of John Wick’s own nebulous origins. We know he was born into poverty in Belarus and remade himself into the world’s greatest warrior, but we don’t know how. Wick is called Baba Yaga, “the Boogeyman,” because so little about him is known.
While Wick is challenging the High Table with good old-fashioned violence, the Marquis sounds like an internal reformist who wields the rules for his own benefit. That doesn’t mean he isn’t bloodthirsty though. The Marquis is after Wick because he views him as an obstacle to remaking the world. Skarsgård continued, “John’s getting old and tired, the Marquis is offering him a way out. To be the one who finally kills the Baba Yaga would secure his status and power within the High Table.”
Wick won’t be eager to accept this way out, which is why he and the Marquis are set to duel.
Skarsgård’s description of the Marquis also points to a theme of class, which is supported by Stahelski’s comments. According to the director, this theme is why the centerpiece of “John Wick: Chapter 4” is a mano-a-mano gunslinging duel:
“You have to earn the right to duel. Back in the day of medieval duels, you couldn’t duel outside of your class, that’s how they use power to manipulate. I thought that was a fascinating idea to mess with, a way to show a different class within our world.”
The Marquis is trying to climb his way into a higher class, and it’s obvious why he sees a duel as the route to do so; an organization like the High Table respects violence. Will he respect the rules of it?
The trailer features the Harbinger (Clancy Brown) declaring that failure to meet for the duel on time will be punished via execution. What follows is John fighting his way through multiple armed men, including Caine (Donnie Yen), who was previously seen in the Marquis’ company. Could the Marquis be sending these men after Wick to make sure he doesn’t make it on time and thus doesn’t have to risk a real duel with the Boogeyman? It would make sense that a “bureaucratic evil” would respect the language of the rules but not their spirit.
The March 2023 issue of Total Film will hit newsstands on February 2.