Abandoned John Wick Plan Would've Ended Keanu Reeves' Franchise After 2 Movies

John Wick has evolved from humble origins into the premier action franchise of our time, spanning four movies, the Ballerina spinoff, and a TV show. While extracurricular success has been mixed, the main John Wick films have bounced from strength to strength, both in terms of box office pulling power and critical acclaim.

And Wick shows no sign of slowing down, with John Wick 5 currently in the pipeline, John's apparent death be damned. Given the enduring appeal of Keanu Reeves' not-quite-retired assassin, it's strange to think the story almost ended after two movies. And yet, if an early plan for John Wick 2 had made it into the finished film, it's hard to see how the franchise could have continued.

John Wick's Daughter Never Made Sense As A Plot For The Sequel

After John Wick first landed a sequel, one of the unused story ideas involved Keanu Reeves' character having an estranged daughter who would come under threat, sparking John's second foray into the criminal underworld.

With Liam Neeson spinning an entire franchise out of that very premise, the "one-man army rescues kidnapped daughter" angle was hardly a fresh one in the 2010s, and the creative minds behind John Wick were wise to direct their energies elsewhere.

A bigger problem emerged, however. Revealing a daughter in movie #2 would have completely upset the foundations of John Wick's character. Throughout the first movie, the defining, driving motivation behind Wick's personality was love. Firstly for his wife, then for his dog. The lengths John will go to for the few members of his inner circle is legendary among his mercenary peers, and the very reason the John Wick franchise exists at all.

It's hard to conceive of any scenario where a man with John Wick's mindset would completely ignore his own child. Even if the daughter asked her ex-hitman dad to stay away, John would surely act as her protector from afar. This is, after all, a man who slaughtered an entire criminal organization because of a dog. And while John would probably respect his daughter's wishes by steering clear if she did ask, he'd surely mention his child at least once during the first movie.

John Wick 2's Daughter Plot Would Have Ended The Franchise

The one way to successfully work a daughter into John Wick 2 would have been if John had no idea she existed. Only then would her complete and utter absence from the first movie make any kind of sense.

But another problem arises: the John Wick franchise couldn't continue beyond a second installment while John's child was still in play.

In a situation where John discovers he's a dad, is forced to protect this child-shaped surprise from an army of villains, and is (presumably) successful, John Wick 2 would end happily with John and his daughter ready to become family.

From there, John has very little motivation to continue fighting into a third and fourth movie. His one and only focus would be parenthood, and while future sequels could place John's daughter in harm's way again, the franchise would be doing a Taken and rehashing John Wick 2 at that point.

John Wick 3 would, of course, have the option of killing the daughter and sending Keanu Reeves' character on a revenge mission. That route might've risked making the story too dreary, but the daughter being saved by her dad only to then get killed offscreen would also have rendered the entirety of John Wick 2 completely pointless.

John and his daughter reconciling at the end of John Wick's second movie may have provided a powerful one-off moment, but it's hard to see how the story could have continued thereafter.