Can a Franchise Like John Wick Survive Without Its Lead?

John Wick without its lead is like separating Tom from Jerry, Bonnie from Clyde, or the mac from cheese. At least, it seems that way at first glance.

The Continental was enormously successful for Peacock, a relative newcomer to the streaming platform fold. It quickly became Peacock’s biggest original launch and still sits in the top 5 of Peacock originals.

That may be where the secret lies, however. After all, The Continental is not John Wick. As it stands, disassociating the title from its predecessor seems like the way to go.

Or, maybe there’s more to it than that.

No one ever thought a Star Trek that didn’t involve the original cast could be successful. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.

The problem the entertainment industry has to overcome is association while restraining themselves from overdoing it.

Building the John Wick Universe

No one held high expectations for the original John Wick.

It was an open-and-shut action flick with some interesting lore thrown in and some awesome fight cinematography.

At the end of the day, however, the story is pretty standard fare. Criminals break into the house of a man who has an interesting history. Criminals rob him blind, steal his favorite car, and kill his dog.

The man with that interesting history goes on a killing spree to avenge the dog, the latter being a physical representation of his affection for and memories of his dead wife.

Fairly cut and dry, right? Nevertheless, it quickly became a cult favorite, driving the John Wick franchise into three direct sequels, a spinoff, and a number of planned and/or rumored spinoffs.

Maybe it was the audience’s love of Neo and Keanu Reeve’s performance as both Neo and Joh Wick. Maybe it was the movie’s lack of a political statement — just mindless entertainment for the masses.

Maybe it was the characters who lent a sort of gravitas to a simple story, cracking open the door to deeper and more fascinating story possibilities.

Maybe it was the simple things, like paying for things with strange gold coins, obeying archaic yet honorable rules, or the hints of a broader political hierarchy — a shadow government criminal enterprise as ancient as the Roman Empire.

Realistically, it was probably a combination of all of the above. Four movies and a ton of profit later, it’s hard to imagine a John Wick flick without the Wick lead — the Baba Yaga (boogeyman) of a massive criminal underverse.

A John Wick Lead Isn’t Necessarily an Absolute Must

If the first movie simply went down as a more-than-successful cult epic, this discussion may have never been necessary. Four movies later, however, there is simply too much universe to deny.

The Continental, if nothing else, proves that a John Wick movie or show can succeed without its lead character.

Throughout the course of the first movie and the three succeeding sequels, the John Wick universe grew larger and more substantial.

Sure, the audience, myself included, is completely wrapped up in John Wick’s adventure, but we also want to know more.

A good movie can turn even the most mundane objects into alluring stories whose words are hidden by nothing more than future creative storytelling. John Wick is also full of strong supporting characters who have their own histories.

In the case of The Continental, Colin Woodell’s Winstin Scott is a fascinating character. The John Wick films did just enough with him to make us want more and more we did receive.

Examples of Successful Franchises

It’s not as if successful spinoffs and expansive storytelling are intrinsic to John Wick. Star Trek is a primary example. It’s hard to imagine someone other than Captain James Tiberius Kirk sitting in the captain’s chair.

Along came Picard and the rest is history.

Many captains and their voyages across the stars succeeded on the small and big screen. Fantastic Beasts proves that the absence of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley is not a bulwark.

Better yet, there are plans for a Harry Potter reboot series in the works. Star Wars found degrees of success for years following the original trilogy. The Marvel Cinematic Universe as well, with the original Avengers fitting the John Wick role here.

On the flip side, there are a lot of examples of the exact opposite as well. Fortunately, that’s mostly due to poor writing, poor production, poor advertising, and a number of other factors of incompetence.

The point is that successful franchises can and do happen, even when they branch off from the original path, leaving behind well-loved and well-known characters.

Audience Engagement is Necessary

Marketing strategies are often hit or miss.

The key is keeping things simple. Of course, the audience needs to know that this is part of the John Wick universe, but that’s the extent of it.

Without focusing on world-building, new protagonists, mystery, and production values, consumers will remain locked in the John Wick mindset.

Of course, there’s a lot more to it than that, including press junkets, exclusive previews, interactive campaigns, the occasional cross promotions, teasers, and fan engagement via social media.

It can be done, but it takes work. Obviously, the final product has to be worth the audience’s time.

If it’s a milquetoast, cash-in spinoff, the audience will see right through it and abandon ship en masse.

Without John Wick in the lead, there has to be a reason for the audience to engage with this new product, loosely associated with the original product they love.

The audience engages with quality for more than obvious reasons. Quality transcends CGI and cinematography, though those are important as well.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if John Wick is the lead so long as the story is capable of standing on its own, offers a deep and intriguing story, and has characters we can root for, empathize with, and enjoy when they eat up the screen.

The Challenges and Considerations of a spinoff

It’s not like anyone will ever forget that a spinoff from John Wick is anything but, regardless of who is in the lead.

Balancing nostalgia and innovation is a careful craft — an art form in and of itself. New and interesting plot lines, ideas, and themes are more than just important; they are in demand.

Notalgic elements have to feel natural, not something that a bored scriptwriter, producer, or director shoe-horns in because it sounds cool in theory.

Then there’s the danger of oversaturation, about which Disney is currently capable of writing very instructive manuals.

As it stands, several John Wick spinoffs are in talks, in pre-production, or in the rumor mill.

• Ballerina is a spinoff film starring Ana de Armas, set to release on June 6, 2025
• John Wick 5 is currently in development (with Keanu Reeves)
• Erica Lee, one of the producers behind the John Wick movies, confirmed an additional film in the works
• Sofia is working title for a rumored project with Halle Berry returning to reprise the role
• A crossover between Johne Wick and Nobody is currently making the rounds in the rumor mill

Who Knows? But we just geek out over the ’80s, and we actually have a plan for what would happen in the ’80s.

-The Continental Director Albert Hughes when asked about potential for a second season.

Ultimately, there is proof in the pudding as far as successful spinoffs go.

It can be done, and, in the case of John Wick, it has been done despite the lack of Keanu Reeves in the lead.

The Continental is the lone example so far, but more are sure to follow.

What do you think about spinoffs from the John Wick franchise? Can you watch a John Wick spinoff without Keanu in the lead role? Let us know in the comments below!