The following contains spoilers for John Wick Chapter 2.
John Wick Chapter 2 was about everything we could have hoped for when it came to a sequel to the original action hit. While the first movie wasn't set up for a sequel, the newest film certainly has. And so, knowing that Chapter 3 is almost certainly on the way, we certainly have an idea what we'd like to see in it.
Part of what has made the sequel so good is that it didn't simply retread the material from the first film, having a second tragedy befall John Wick so that he would once again go on the warpath. It made a new and original story. The sequel needs to now figure out how to separate itself from both of the previous stories and do something fresh and new once again.
A Better Plot Than The One They Set Up
The first John Wick introduced us to the character and then gave him a reason to go on a mission of vengeance. The sequel turned the tables and made John Wick the target of every assassin who could find him. John Wick: Chapter 3 would seem to be setting up a story a lot like the one we just saw in Chapter 2. All assassins versus John Wick. While that can be the catalyst for the events of the film, hopefully that won't be all the movie is about. We've seen that movie. It was good, but show us something new, please. Hopefully, this is just a setup that will lead to a more robust story.
Bring Back Some Great Characters
Among the numerous things that John Wick: Chapter 2 changed up from its predecessor is that it didn't actually kill everybody. While all of the nameless grunts, and the primary target of John Wick, all ended up dead, at least two characters were still breathing the last time we saw them on screen. Both Cassian, played by Common, and Ares, played by Ruby Rose, did not actually die on screen. We're guessing this was done intentionally in order to potentially bring them back in the next film. Whether they're simply two of the assassins gunning for Wick or Wick makes a deal with them to get their help, we want to see them both back again.
More Details On "The Impossible Task"
One of the best parts about the history that the John Wick movies created is the existence of the Impossible Task. In the first movie, we learn that Wick earned his freedom from the underworld by successfully completing a task for the Russian Mob that should have killed him. It's brought up again in the sequel that part of the reason that he was able to do it is because he offered a marker to Santino D'antonio in order to get help. It certainly seems that, cut off from all resources, John Wick will once again be dealing with an Impossible Task, so maybe he'll try to use that same strategy to survive this time.
New Locations
While it made sense that the first John Wick took place in a single area, one of the first things the sequel did to change things up was move the action across an ocean to Italy. It was slightly disappointing when, at the end of the first act, the action switched back to the familiar New York surroundings. If John Wick is going to spend this movie running for his life, we're assuming that he won't be hanging around the areas he's known to frequent. Hopefully this will mean action will take place in many new and interesting settings.
The High Table
The lore of John Wick is one of the most interesting things about the series, and after learning so much about how the world works, we're ready to see how it is run. If there's a global open contract on John Wick's head, there's a good chance the only way to survive it, outside of literally killing everybody, is to go straight to the top. We'd love to meet at least a couple members of this council and get some inside details regarding how it all works. How long as the underworld been this organized? And what happens when a guy like John Wick has to destroy it in order to survive?
A Potential For Failure
In the first John Wick, it made sense to create the title character as an unstoppable force of vengeance. He was the Boogyman, after all. However, once you stop fearing the Boogyman, he's much easier to beat. If John Wick: Chapter 2 stumbled at all, it was in the way the character was still essentially invincible, even though everybody and their cousin were trying to kill him. With the entire world literally set to be against him in John Wick: Chapter 3, we need to be made to feel like The Boogyman can be killed. Take away his bulletproof suit or find an adversary who is as good at headshots as John Wick is so we might actually believe the hero could die, at least for awhile.
