John Wick is, without question, one of the best action thrillers to result in an exhilarating franchise. The character revamped Keanu Reeves and his career as an action star, making this master assassin role his own, from the intensely well-choreographed action sequences, to the deep and subtle emotions surrounding his struggle to find peace from his life of killing. The first three John Wick films are critical and box office successes, with a fourth and potentially fifth entry on the way, as well as a TV series based on the origins of the Continental. While the future of the John Wick universe is exciting, there should also be a prequel that focuses on John Wick's origins.
There are a lot of elements that can go into a John Wick prequel (film or TV series). The first question is whether or not Keanu would have a role in the prequel? The star could very much be involved by making his Wick character younger with the use of makeup and hairstyling. However, if that doesn't work, a younger actor who resembles Keanu and the appearance of John Wick can take on the role (since it's highly doubtful filmmakers will rely on CGI to make Keanu younger).
The John Wick filmmakers rely on physical and practical stunt work, without the use of CGI or heavy special effects. The prequel has the opportunity to explore how John Wick grew up and became an elite assassin. His family history and former relationships would also be key elements to include in the feature or series.
Focusing on John Wick's Early Career
The prequel could feature Wick's early training days, including how he got his unique skills with guns, knives, martial arts, and other weapons (like a pencil). There can also be more emphasis on where Wick has traveled to make significant kills, including New York and Rome (since the Continental is worldwide). Wick's bond with Winston (his closest friend, mentor, and father figure) and his right hand man Charon, are also important figures who factor into Wick's evolution towards working with the Continental, as well as becoming a well-respected and feared contract killer. Aside from the upcoming Continental TV series, Winston and Charon's roles are significant in the prequel because they've always watched Wick's back, and protected him from dangerous threats.
Viggo Tarasov (Wick's former associate turned enemy from the first film) is another crucial character who deserves a backstory with Wick because he knows a lot about John's past, including the "impossible task" Wick successfully completed in order to leave his life as an assassin behind him. Viggo also knows about the time Wick killed three men with a pencil. These events would be fascinating to reveal in the prequel.
How John Wick Formed His Relationships
The prequel could also go into how Wick fell in love with his wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan), before she died of cancer. She was always a special part of his life because Wick was able to find love and peace through their relationship. Wick also could've had intimate relationships before Helen, such as assassin Ms. Perkins or Addy (the bartender in the New York Continental residence from the first movie).
Aurelio (John Leguizamo) is the mechanic briefly shown in the first two films, and is one of Wick's most loyal friends, who deserves more screen time in the prequel to explore his friendship with Wick, and their passion for driving old, classic cars. Wick also seems to know a lot of assassins, including Cassian (Common's role in the second film) and Marcus (portrayed by Willem Dafoe in the first movie), who were close with him, and could be given more backstories. Marcus was particularly caring towards John since he attended Helen's funeral, and when Viggo gave Marcus a contract to kill Wick, Marcus instead protected John from Viggo's associates and anyone who wanted Wick dead.
Wick's working relationship with Santino D' Antonio is also worth exploring because Santino was the one who helped Wick retire from being an assassin, and made John take a blood oath, meaning that John would owe Santino a task one day (which was to kill his sister Gianna). Before becoming enemies, Wick and Santino appeared to be good friends, since Santino gave Wick his beautiful home, but it also all could have been strictly business between them. The Bowery King (played by Reeves' Matrix co-star Laurence Fishburne) also knows Wick very well, and while the King has his own underground army, he and Wick might've helped each other in the past with high priority targets.
She isn't a part of the Wick universe (not yet at least), but Charlize Theron's role in the action thriller Atomic Blonde has been compared to Wick in the sense that their fighting techniques and their ability to kill targets efficiently are similar, meaning their characters could collide in a prequel. Keanu and Charlize have terrific chemistry, and have worked together twice before (The Devil's Advocate and Sweet November). Ana de Armas (who also collaborated with Reeves before in Eli Roth's Knock Knock) is in talks to star in the John Wick spinoff Ballerina, and since she has already played a tough agent in the Bond film No Time To Die, she could also collide with Wick in the prequel and give him a good battle.
The John Wick universe has become such a phenomenon in the action genre, and is filled with numerous characters that could be given more depth in a prequel (as well as sequels and spin-offs). Wick himself can also benefit from a prequel because fans want to know how he learned to kill and fight effectively with guns and cool martial arts techniques. Whatever film or TV series comes next, John Wick and his unique underworld of organized crime have already been solidified.