Warning: slight spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4, as well as the entire franchise, are going to be in play. If you’re not caught up on this Keanu Reeves saga, you’ve officially been warned.
Through four of the best action movies we’ve seen in some time, the John Wick saga has seen some amazing villains, stunts, and kills shown off on the silver screen. However, Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski’s big blazing chop buster has also been known to revel in a hidden asset: its stable of beautiful scene-stealing dogs! While it’s impossible to rank this lot of canine co-stars, we can certainly pay loving tribute to the John Wick franchise’s dear doggos, as they are all best in show. Which is what we're about to do, so beware of some story spoilers, and the increased risk of adorable dog photos.
Daisy The Beagle (John Wick)
Daisy is the dog that started it all, for better or for worse. Meant to be one last gift from his dearly departed wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan), a beagle puppy named Daisy could have been the key to the life of peace John Wick (Keanu Reeves) sought. That’s exactly what the start of John Wick had us thinking too, as the opening act of this adrenaline addicted cinematic wonder is John getting used to caring for a puppy.
Revisiting the first chapter of this quadrilogy, thanks to the first three Wick movies currently being available through a Peacock subscription, the story of John trying to get revenge because “someone killed his dog” is a gross understatement. Daisy was a token of the life our anti-hero could have had, were he not dragged into the criminal underworld of the John Wick films.
In an alternate universe, there's probably a rom-com where Keanu Reeves meets Sandra Bullock at a dog park, their characters falling in love in awkwardly beautiful fashion. That's not where the John Wick universe lies, as Daisy's senseless murder set off an understandable chain of aggression. Only racking up a few minutes of screen time, Daisy (played by a male beagle who, according to Insider, is now named Wick) made enough of a lasting impression to be remembered as a pet worth killing for.
John Wick’s Pitbull (John Wick - John Wick: Chapter 4)
While John Wick almost died in his quest for vengeance and retribution, he survived by the skin of his teeth. He also made a new friend in the closing moments of that first adventure, as tending to his wounds in a random animal shelter introduced Baba Yaga to a new, unnamed pitbull companion.
Sticking around for the rest of the series, straight on until the bittersweet ending of John Wick: Chapter 4, our nameless friend wouldn’t see combat. John Wick was always sure to hide his pitbull baby at The New York Continental, where he would be looked after by the late great Charon (Lance Reddick), who volunteered for duty in John Wick: Chapter 2 and was seen gladly accepting those duties yet again in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum.
That decision is even more impressive as it answered another random question about The Continental, as Charon admitted the hotel doesn’t do dog boarding. With the famed concierge and John Wick himself apparently dead at the end of John Wick 4, the silver lining is that this good boy found himself a home. Last seen at John’s gravesite with The Bowery King (Lawrence Fishburne), the powerful chief of a wide reaching spy ring now has a dog to go with his pigeons.
Sofia Al-Azwar’s Twin Belgian Malinois (John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum)
Admittedly, the first two chapters of John Wick gave us dogs that were either killed in action, or shielded from the fight from round one. That changed in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, through the introduction of Sofia Al-Azwar (Halle Berry), as The Casablanca Continental’s manager came with a pair of Belgian Malinois that knew how to take the fight to random thugs.
Once again, the love of a dog caused some rules to be broken, as John Wick 3 saw Sofia break one of the two cardinal rules of John Wick universe. After her former boss Berrada (Jerome Flynn) tried to steal and kill one of her precious pets (whose names haven’t officially been established in the Wick canon).
The closest thing we have to names for these dangerous dogs of war comes from a Reddit forum, which credits an online transcript as providing the names Dazir and Havan. What we know for certain is that when it came time to work with the five different dogs that played Sofia’s loyal partners, Halle Berry actually commanded her own dogs in the midst of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum’s action.
Mr. Nobody’s Belgian Malinois (John Wick: Chapter 4)
As we specified before, John Wick: Chapter 4 sounds like it might be the final adventure of Keanu Reeves’ presumed dead hitman. Should this be the final ride, the relationship between Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson) and his unnamed Belgian Malinois is the ultimate conclusion to this well noted thread.
John Wick’s relationship to dogs leads to the greatest call back in the series’ history, as the impressive-as-hell drone-shot apartment fight in John Wick 4 saw Reeves saving a dog in the middle of an on-screen firefight. Not only did that give John Wick a moment to prevent another Daisy-style killing, it showed Mr. Nobody that the two of them were on a similar wavelength as people.
Of course, this new Belgian Malinois doesn’t have a name, despite the tempting pun of “Nobuddy” sitting right there. But it did get to further the history of canine carnage in John Wick’s string of action packed narratives, as this dog got to play a huge role in several set-pieces on display in John Wick: Chapter 4. It also helps that Nobody and his battle buddy are practically inseparable, allowing the two to rack up quite the number of nut shots and arm attacks in all sorts of chaotic surroundings.
Whether or not the John Wick series continues, outside of the already established spin-off and prequel heading our way, there's room to tell a lot of different stories. And with that potential expansion comes the opportunity to include even more animal allies, from all sorts of species.
Though admittedly, if the Wick universe is going to continue, there's always going to be the expectation that at least one new dog will join the cast. At this point, it's a pattern, and it's one that continues to yield beautiful results. Catch up with the cacophonous conclusion of this canine continuum with John Wick: Chapter 4, which is still playing in theaters.
