John Wick 3: 5 Things We Want To See In The Third John Wick Movie, Parabellum

John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum arrives in theaters this week. We've been looking ahead to the third movie for quite a while now--which means our imaginations have run wild with hopes and dreams for the movie. What do you predict for John Wick 3? Is this the role Keanu Reeves was born to play? Do you think this will be the final John Wick movie, or will they leave room for more? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Keanu Reeves' adrenaline-fueled trilogy kicked off in 2014 via the simple tale of one man avenging the death of his dog, though beneath the surface, it was much more complicated. John had previously worked as a contract killer for a secret society run by a mysterious group called the High Table before quitting to be with his wife, then received said dog as a gift to help deal with his grief when she passed. But the son of John's former boss killed the adorable pup dead, resulting in John murdering almost everybody connected to the entire organization.

The film was a modest commercial hit (grossing $89m from a $20m budget) and a critical darling (with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 87%), making a sequel pretty much inevitable. So in 2017 the legend grew via John Wick: Chapter 2, which found our hero heading to Rome to fulfill a "Marker" by killing an Italian crime lord's sister. John carries out the order, but soon finds himself double-crossed. So by way of revenge, he kills on the grounds of the Continental Hotel, thereby breaking the rules set by the High Table.

The sequel ended with John excommunicated and on the run, with scores of assassins on his tail. It was a bigger hit than the first film, grossing $170m worldwide, achieving an RT score of 89%, and perfectly setting up Chapter 3. Based on the trailers, Parabellum promises to be the most ambitious entry yet--here are five things we want to see in the third John Wick movie.

John Wick is known by many names, from The Boogeyman and The Reaper to The Devil and Baba Yaga. All of these swell the myth of the man. But although we've now spent two hours with the legendary assassin, audiences still have no idea who he really is--aside from the fact that he's a near superhuman assassin, who left the business when he fell in love, then returned because of a dead dog.

So who is John? Where was he born? Who are his parents? How did he become a killer? And why does he find it so easy to carry out all those kills? Speaking to Entertainment Weekly back in December, director Chad Stahelski suggested that some of these questions will be answered in the new film, stating that the character played by Anjelica Huston is "someone who was responsible for [Wick's] upbringing and protection." Speaking of which…

Chapter 3 promises to reveal details about the shady organization known as the High Table, and we are very ready to learn more. Huston reportedly plays a character called The Director, meaning she may well be "Top Dog" and therefore pretty conflicted about her aforementioned past with John, and his recent disregard for Continental rules.

The Director isn't the only potential member of High Table hierarchy who might take center stage in Parabellum. Robin Lord Taylor--aka Penguin in Gotham--has been cast as a character known as "Administrator, though we're guessing his job isn't as boring as it sounds. And Asia Kate Dillon--so good as Taylor Mason in Billions--plays a character called The Adjudicator, who the trailers suggest is very keen to kill John.

The likes of Continental owner Winston (Ian McShane), Continental concierge Charon (Lance Reddick), and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) all return for Chapter 3. But the new film also introduces several new characters: Halle Berry plays Sofia, a friend and assassin who used to work alongside John. Judging from the footage released thus far, she's reluctant to assist at first, and when she does eventually agree, Sofia warns Wick that "After this, we are less than even." She also has two massive dogs, but more on them later.

Mark Dacascos plays Zero, John's apparent nemesis throughout the film. Though as well as trying to kill him, Zero also happens to be a huge fan of the legendary assassin. Dacascos is the star of such action classics as Brotherhood of the Wolf and Crying Freeman, so he'll likely give Reeves a run for his money when it comes to close quarters combat.

Then there's Jason Mantzoukas as the mysteriously monikered Tick Tock Man, who early word suggests is also an assassin. Though thanks to Mantzoukas's comedy background, we've no idea if he'll end up being friend or foe to John.

The John Wick films are as much about dogs as they are assassins. Lionsgate even recently released a canine-focused featurette to celebrate National Puppy Day. It looks like dogs again take center stage in Chapter 3, with John's trusty canine sidekick sent to the Continental via cab in a recently released clip, with instructions for Charon to receive his still nameless four-legged friend.

Actual canine carnage looks to be coming courtesy of Sofia, as in all the trailers she's accompanied by two huge Belgian Malinois dogs, whom Stahelski calls her "canine assistants." Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, director Chad Stahelski explained, "Whereas John's puppy was symbolic of his wife, Halle's two dogs are symbolic of someone she's lost." (That sounds like the same thing to us, but whatever.) Stahelski added that the doggie duo work together tactically, so much so that entire action sequences have been designed around them.

And judging from the title, that's what we'll get. Because as well as being the name of an automatic weapon, Parabellum means "prepare for war" in Latin. Indeed, while speaking to Coming Soon, Reeves quoted the dead language, stating "It's part of that famous sentence 'Si vis pacem, para bellum,' which translates as 'If you want peace, prepare for war.'"

So expect blood to be shed as conflict escalates between the Continental's network of assassins and John's own matrix of friends and allies. In terms of action, Chapter 2 upped the ante from the original, and we're expecting no less from Chapter 3. After all, at their core, the John Wick films are action epics, directed by a stunt legend, and starring a guy who has practically trained his whole life to play this character in this franchise.

We've even glimpsed Keanu doing battle while riding a horse through the streets of New York. Hopefully that's the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Parabellum's action, as to top what's comes before--and to take John Wick to the next level--Chapter 3 needs to melt our eyeballs with action, while at the same time combining the spectacular with both the ridiculous and the sublime.

John Wick: Chapter 3 hits theaters May 17 in the US and May 15 in the UK.