WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for John Wick: Chapter 4!A John Wick prequel would be a bad idea, but John Wick: Chapter 4 introduced a much better concept. The tale of John Wick reaches its zenith in John Wick: Chapter 4, with John (Keanu Reeves) the target of the High Table. John’s old friend Caine (Donnie Yen) is forced to take on the task of assassinating John at the behest of the Marquis de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) in order to save his daughter, with John and Caine’s reunion forming the heart of the story.
With the death of John Wick at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, the John Wick franchise’s future is something of a question mark without his continued story. The idea of a John Wick prequel has been the topic of online discussion for years, but the entire concept of the John Wick series argues against it. On the other hand, John Wick: Chapter 4 shows that a Caine prequel could be a much better alternative.
A John Wick Prequel Would Undermine His Legendary Status
John Wick is regarded as a legend within the assassin underworld, carrying the nickname of the Baba Yaga and his career making him highly revered even by the very enemies sent to take him out. The John Wick franchise itself has been sure to maintain this, with the aura of John’s legend hovering around him in every chapter of the franchise. The John Wick movies have also kept the specifics of his pre-retirement assassin life relatively few and far between. Even when the John Wick films have gone into detail, they have always revealed only portions of the tales about him with much to still be inferred or theorized upon.
A John Wick prequel movie could rob the franchise and John himself of one of the best qualities of both, which is the legend he carries that is largely shrouded in mystery (even the five-issue John Wick prequel comic does not fill in everything about his past). Moreover, the idea of a prequel itself goes in the opposite direction of John being an established myth by showing his legend still building, the exact opposite of what has made the John Wick movies work so well. Fortunately, John Wick: Chapter 4 introduces a far better prequel candidate in Caine.
John Wick 4 Set Up The Perfect Prequel Movie With Caine
Like John, Caine’s past is mostly hinted at rather than revealed outright in John Wick: Chapter 4. The only hard details offered about Caine is that he is a retired assassin who sacrificed his eyes to the High Table, with he and John Wick being friends (along with other possibilities for Caine’s backstory being hinted at). The big difference is that, while Caine is absolutely John’s equal as an assassin, he is not presented with the same mysterious, mythic status as John. That makes a Caine-based prequel a much better concept after John Wick: Chapter 4.
Caine’s past is ripe with potential stories of how he came to his own retirement, and his connection to John brings with it other advantages. How Caine met John could be touched upon in a way that could be relatively compartmentalized, without revealing too much about John’s own past and preserving his legendary status while exploring Caine’s history. With the John Wick franchise expanding even after the death of John Wick himself, there is also an avenue available to help segue into that.
The Continental Can Explore Caine’s Assassin Past (& Set Up A Spin-Off)
Peacock’s The Continental TV series is set to show the origins of the assassin safe house that is the Continental hotel chain and the hallowed ground it represents to all under the High Table. Donnie Yen is not confirmed to make any appearance on The Continental, but the show could easily facilitate a Caine cameo or supporting role in a potential season two. Even such a minor appearance on The Continental could, in turn, serve as a launching pad for a proper Caine prequel.
With The Continental and Ballerina spin-offs on the way, the John Wick franchise is clearly expanding its world to encompass new stories and characters. As one of John Wick: Chapter 4‘s most spin-off worthy characters, Donnie Yen’s Caine is fully poised to continue ahead in the John Wick universe, but his appearances need not be strictly in the present tense. A Caine prequel could be one of the major building blocks of the John Wick universe, and one that keeps the Baba Yaga’s past properly veiled while focusing on a new protagonist just as capable of carrying the franchise.
