Celebrating second anniversary of 'John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum'
Keanu Reeves-starrer John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum took the very definition of action films to another level. Parabellum hit the theaters in 2019, and received a thunderous response. This third installment of the John Wick series became the highest-grossing film of the franchise in just 10 days. That's a remarkable feat! On its second anniversary, let's look back at the beloved Reeves's film.
What was 'John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum' all about?
The movie revolves around Wick, who is trying to escape from a gang of ruthless killers. To make matters worse, he also has a $14 million bounty on his head. Wick has been on the run ever since he killed a member of the murky international assassins' guild. The movie also introduces fans to Halle Berry's character Sofia, his former friend and possible lover.
'Parabellum': Cast, box office, and other details
Parabellum made $326 million worldwide, and had the best opening for the series. Such was its success that Lionsgate announced two more sequels, without wasting any time. Apart from Reeves, the movie has an amazing cast, including Laurence Fishburne (The Bowery King), Lance Reddick, Anjelica Huston, and Ian McShane (Winston). It has been directed by Chad Stahelski, the stunt double for the Matrix movies.
Watch: How Reeves trained rigorously for the horse fight scene
There's an action sequence of Parabellum where Wick is seen fighting riding a horse, while being chased by two bike-borne assassins in New York. Even for this tiny scene, Reeves, known to do his own stunts, underwent rigorous training, as seen in this clip: https://twitter.com/slyladykush/status/1164938601953726464.
Did you know Berry had trained her character's dogs herself?
John Wick, the franchise, also has another important character: Dogs. It was for a dog Wick returned to action. Parabellum also had three of them, Wick's pitbull and Sofia's two Belgian Malinois Shepherds. Notably, the Malinois Shepherds were trained by Berry herself. In fact, their stunts were performed by five dogs, so that none of them were stressed out.
Wick and Bob Odenkirk's 'Nobody' crossover possible? Director explains
Interestingly, there are speculations that Hutch Mansell from Nobody (Bob Odenkirk) and Wick might have a possible crossover. Because, the two badass characters have a lot of similarities and fans think they could be set in the same universe. While Nobody director Ilya Naishuller was open to the idea, Odenkirk revealed that it's unlikely, unless Wick decided to show up at the suburbs.
Interesting trivia about 'John Wick 3' you may not know
Do you know what Parabellum means? It is Latin for 'Si vis pacem, para bellum,' which means "If you want peace, prepare for war." For this film, Reeves took home a humble paycheck, at $2.5mn, much less than what he deserved. For perspective, for the Matrix series, he pocketed roughly $35mn, and the last instalment of the sci-fi action franchise released 18 years ago.
