Derek Kolstad’s Nobody released to theaters this past Friday, and moviegoers can’t help but compare the film to Kolstad’s John Wick franchise. Since comparisons have been running rampant, leading man and Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk has spoken out about whether his Nobody character could take out Keanu Reeves’ skilled hitman or not.
No one would probably argue that both lead characters are fairly lethal in their own right, so predicting the victor in a fight is somewhat difficult. Bob Odenkirk was recently asked by The Hollywood Reporter if his Nobody character, Hutch Mansell, would be able to take out John Wick, and he had a pretty interesting answer. Here it is in the Breaking Bad star's own words:
No, John Wick is perfectly fine. Keep in mind, I don’t think that their paths would cross. John Wick lives in this netherworld of bad guys and cool places with glass walls. Hutch doesn’t go there. He lives in the suburbs of a medium-sized city in the middle of nowhere. He’s not going to ever meet John Wick unless John Wick goes home to visit his parents or his brother who’s an insurance adjuster.
Even though the two badass vigilantes live in two seemingly different worlds, there have been speculations of the two characters sharing a universe. Whether this has to do with both being the creation of Derek Kolstad or because the two films share a familiar faced bad guy in that of Daniel Bernhardt is unclear. Another connection that has been made is that Bob Odenkirk trained for two years at the same gym where Keanu Reeves trained, both to become the death-dealing machines we see in their respective films.
Whatever the reason fans have made the leap to connecting the two films, the comparison is definitely warranted. I mean, you can’t help but to notice the events that trigger the two characters are eerily similar. John Wick goes on a bad guy killing spree due to the death of his dog. And in Hutch Mansell’s case, it’s the theft of his daughter’s kitty cat bracelet. Don’t get me wrong, they’re both completely understandable reactions and everything, but it’s hard not to connect the two men through their sentimental motivations.
Bob Odenkirk may have been smart to dodge the question of whether or not he could kick John Wick’s butt. Odenkirk’s character is pretty out of practice when he goes on his series of ass-kicking events, but John Wick is almost 4 films in and pretty well versed in the art of beating bad guys. Odenkirk is known for playing characters who think well on their feet, though, so the question dodge is very on-brand.
You can watch Nobody in theaters now, but the John Wick franchise won’t see another film released until next year. The good news is that by then, we could have word on a potential Nobody sequel!
