The John Wick series has emerged to be one of the best action franchises in recent memory, with two very well-received and kick-ass movies released thus far. John Wick: Chapter 2 introduced a ton of new characters to the mix, but the coolest was hands down Cassian, the rival assassin played by Common. He was the only character who could go toe-to-toe with John Wick (Keanu Reeves), but it sounds like the two of them won't be getting a rematch in John Wick 3: Parabellum.
I'm not in the third part, but I could say that I really loved being a part of John Wick 2 and it was an amazing experience. Working with Keanu [Reeves] and [director] Chad [Stahelski], they're just phenomenal. Challenged and really passionate about the stuff, and I can say that [John Wick 3] is going to be incredible, though, I'll tell you that much.
In John Wick: Chapter 2, John Wick is back in the game to settle some debts, which forces him to cross paths with Cassian. Long story short, John Wick ends up on the top of the hit list, and every assassin with a gun and a gimmick in New York City tries to kill him. This includes Cassian, who is the only one of these foes who is even close to John Wick's level of badass and instant headshots. The two of them have some of the best one-on-one fights in the entire movie, and sadly it sounds like that feud will stay in John Wick 2.
While it was widely assumed that Common would return to reprise his role in John Wick 3: Parabellum, that is unfortunately not the case. In an interview with Coming Soon, Common revealed that he would not be returning for John Wick 3. Common didn't give any specific reason as to why that is, but it's apparently not due to any kind of falling out with the creative team. Common had nothing but nice things to say about his experience filming John Wick 2 and working with Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski.
It could just be that the creative team behind John Wick 3 felt that Cassian's story was over, though things were left open-ended. It's also possible that there was a scheduling conflict and Common wasn't able to commit to filming. He has nine credited roles listed on IMDb for 2018, so he really kept himself busy!
We might not see Cassian and John Wick square off again, but at least we'll always have this fight from John Wick 2.
In addition to Keanu Reeves, John Wick 3: Parabellum does star Halle Berry, Ian McShane, Ruby Rose, Lance Reddick, Laurence Fishburne, Anjelica Huston, Asia Kate Dillon, and Said Taghmaoui. The movie is scheduled to hit theaters on May 17, 2019.
