Toy Story 4 Already Revealed An Awesome Disney Easter Egg

Toy Story 4 Already Revealed An Awesome Disney Easter Egg

Yesterday, Toy Story 4 presented devotees of the series with another glimpse of the magic that the third sequel in the series is looking to offer. And like clockwork, there's already a huge easter egg that's been plucked out of that recent round of footage, as you'll see below. If you've been wondering what Boo from Monsters Inc. has been up to, it looks like you're about to find out.

Looking in the top right corner of this screengrab from the latest trailer for Toy Story 4, Boo seems to be present while Bonnie is hard at work crafting Forky. It's the sort of moment you can miss if you blink at the wrong time, but even in the slightly out of focus frame, it looks just like the little girl who won the world over in Pixar's 2001 effort. Strangely enough, this theory is bolstered even more by two other occurrences in the Toy Story universe.

Apparently, this isn't the first time Boo has popped up in Toy Story history, as Toy Story 3 also was believed to have Boo attending Sunnyside Daycare alongside little Bonnie. This easter egg was shown during the first time the toys saw gentle Butterfly Room in effect. Seen playing with a blue cat toy and a girl dressed as a sunflower, the connection between Toy Story and Boo started to come into focus. Or did it?

We all know that Pixar loves to use easter eggs to tie their films together, be they past or present. And the Toy Story saga isn't the first time that Boo has found a connection to a character from the series. In Monster's Inc., Boo had her own Jessie doll she tried to show to Sully before he left for good. So if anything, the studio is being consistent with the connection between these two particular worlds, with Boo returning yet again for Toy Story 4.

Of course, there's a chance that this theory from Twitter could turn out to to be, indeed, just something that folks thought they saw as a fact. But with all the evidence in front of us, it looks like Boo is indeed going to be in Toy Story 4. Should the film confirm that fact, it'll be yet another moment of Disney/Pixar history for the ages.

Toy Story 4 will come out and play in theaters on June 21st. But you don't have to wait that long for your next cinematic rodeo, with the 2019 release schedule already packed with plenty of adventure between now and then. And if you're really heated about the debate over whether or not that's really Boo in the trailer for Woody, Buzz, and the gang's latest adventure, we have a poll that we'd like you to take below to help settle the matter.

Taron Egerton Hopes Rocketman Makes Even Half Of Bohemian Rhapsody’s Money

Taron Egerton Hopes Rocketman Makes Even Half Of Bohemian Rhapsody’s Money

Rocketman is not Bohemian Rhapsody. Taron Egerton is aware of it. There are easy comparisons, of course, in that Egerton is playing Elton John in a music biopic the same way Rami Malek played Freddie Mercury. They even have director Dexter Fletcher in common, since Fletcher stepped in to finish Bohemian Rhapsody after Bryan Singer was fired.

Since Bohemian Rhapsody made a mind-boggling $903,175,016 at the box office, off a projected production budget just over $50 million, it's a ridiculously high bar for the next music biopic to face.

Taron Egerton was candid about the comparisons, just hoping for the best:

I'm at peace with however much money it makes. But I hope it does really, really well. If it made half of [Bohemian Rhapsody], it would be terrific for my career.

True. As Taron Egerton suggested in his quote to THR, half of Bohemian Rhapsody's record-breaking money is still about half a billion dollars worldwide, a success by any metric for a film of this size. The 29-year-old actor is clearly keen to advance his career. He's known to many as Eggsy from the Kingsman movies, and also the titular Eddie the Eagle. He also has some singing experience from the movie Sing. And he was the lead of the notorious 2018 bomb Robin Hood.

All it takes is one movie to launch your career -- just ask Rami Malek, who was best known from Mr. Robot before being shot to fame, picking up a Best Actor Oscar for Freddie Mercury, and now playing a Bond villain.

Rocketman will inevitably be judged next to Best Picture-nominated Bohemian Rhapsody, but they aren't exactly apples to apples. For one thing, Rocketman is Rated R, vs. Bohemian Rhapsody at PG-13. They are also telling their stories in very different ways. Rocketman has a lot of sex and drugs -- and that sex is between men, with Taron Egerton's Elton having sex scenes with Richard Madden's John Reid.

Apparently that's one reason why Rocketman stalled at Universal. Producer Matthew Vaughn recalled a conversation with studio chairman Donna Langley:

I rang her up and she's like, 'You definitely want to make it an R-rated film and you're going to make it for over $35 million?' And I said, 'Yes.' And she said, 'Good luck.'

Despite reports that Paramount asked director Dexter Fletcher to tone down the film -- to make it more marketable in a huge box office like China, which usually bans any gay scenes -- the filmmakers say Rocketman still depicts Elton John coming to terms with his sexuality and also shows his issues with substance abuse.

Another difference between Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman is Elton John is still with us (unlike Freddie Mercury) and was able to be there for the film and give his blessing. He praised Taron Egerton's performance to THR, saying the film made him forget it was Taron up there, he thought he was watching himself. "That's the highest compliment I can tell you."

Rocketman is opening in theaters on May 31, which puts it squarely up against Godzilla: King of the Monsters. It's going to have to grab onto the rest of the audience and hope to leg out from there. Early tracking put Rocketman's opening weekend around $20 million.

If Rocketman gets good reviews -- from fans even more than critics -- it could theoretically enjoy success on a level next to Bohemian Rhapsody, which just kept quietly making money week after week until we all turned around and it was knocking on the door of $1 billion worldwide. Most of that money came from overseas, though -- especially Japan, which just went crazy for Queen -- and it's much less likely that Rocketman will be embraced by the foreign box office in the same way. But we'll see. Keep up with all of the 2019 movies ahead with our handy release schedule.

Why 'Lord Of War' Starring Nicolas Cage Bought 3,000 Real Guns Instead Of Props

Why 'Lord Of War' Starring Nicolas Cage Bought 3,000 Real Guns Instead Of Props

There are a lot of guns in the In the 2005 movie Lord of War. And we mean a lot of guns. The underrated crime drama is loosely based on real events and real-life arms dealers and smugglers, and it follows Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage), an illegal arms dealer who amalgamates a great deal of business — and quite a bit of trouble along the way — as he sells high-power rifles, machine guns and other weapons to war-driven countries from the '80s through the early '00s. If you are making a movie about a guy who sells a lot of guns, you're gonna need a whole lot of guns. It's basically a given.

Oftentimes, however, the guns you see in the movies are just props. Fakes. There are exceptions to be found throughout the movie business, obviously, but it's generally known that the guns you see in the movies may not always be the real deal. However, when it comes to Lord of War, those weapons were not the result of movie magic. Instead, writer-director Andrew Niccol went ahead and bought a whopping 3000 Kalashnikov automatic rifles.

But here's the kicker: the movie team didn't purchase these high power rifles simply to make the flick a bit more authentic or realistic. Instead, the filmmakers behind Lord of War discovered that it would ultimately be cheaper to buy real guns instead of fakes. Yes, really.

In an interview with The New York Daily News (via The New Zealand Herald), Andrew Niccol — who is also known as the screenwriter of The Truman Show and the director of In Time, Gattaca, The Host (2013) and, most recently, Netflix's Anon — explained how it was easier to acquire real guns and sell them back after filming. Also, Niccol realized that it wasn't quite as easy to make a profit off of weapons as his lead character made it seem.

In a way, my film is a how-to about becoming an arms dealer. During the making of it, I needed guns in the Czech Republic, and it was cheaper to use real guns than replicas. I bought 3000 Kalashnikovs and then sold them back at a loss. I wouldn't make a very good arms dealer.

Meanwhile, Andrew Niccol was apparently not entirely keen on selling the guns back into circulation. Yet, because the budget of his movie was fairly small, he wasn't able to destroy them. Or, at least, not all of them. As the writer-director explained, there were a few guns that he was able to dispose of.

In South Africa, we did cut some guns in half to stop them from getting into circulation. The fact that it was so easy to buy guns was disturbing. We also got some tanks, and the guy said, 'I need them back by December because I'm selling them to Libya.'

Furthermore, while the movie itself does showcase an array of guns and results in a fun and engaging film about crime and weaponry, Lord of War isn't necessarily a celebration of gun culture. Or, at least, it doesn't sound like Andrew Niccol is a fan of the illegal arms culture, which could be why he destroyed some of what the Lord of War team purchased for the film.

Also starring Ethan Hawke, Bridget Moynahan and Jared Leto, Lord of War was met with modest reviews by critics when it was released in 2005. However, in the time since its release, the crime drama has gone on to receive high praise from audiences — particularly with its 7.6 rating on IMDb. Though the movie isn't perfect, it is a thoughtful and compelling examination of the gun trade, particularly in the years before and after 9/11, and it is certainly worth a watch if you haven't had a chance to see it yet.

Additionally, if you do get a chance to check out Lord of War, you should definitely take note of the guns found on display throughout the film — though it would be hard not to, given the movie's subject matter. Because they are the real deal, folks. Those guns aren't make-believe. And that most certainly adds to the film's heightened realism.

Lord of War is currently available streaming on Netflix or you can pickup your own copy -- in 4K even -- on Amazon.

The Tesseract Timeline: Where The Cube Has Been In The MCU

The Tesseract Timeline: Where The Cube Has Been In The MCU

Warning: SPOILERS ahead!

When the Marvel Cinematic Universe was created, six singularities were turned into what we now know as the Infinity Stones. While each Stone has its own unique set of abilities, one has received more attention the others over the last decade: the Space Stone, originally identified as the Tesseract. The blue-colored artifact most recently appeared in Captain Marvel, playing a role in Carol Danvers’ origin story.

Because the Tesseract is the Infinity Stone that’s gotten the most screen time, and because of the way the MCU timeline jumped around for Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain Marvel, it can be hard to keep track of all the places it’s been in this franchise. Not to worry, we have you covered, as here are all the places the Tesseract has popped up chronologically within the MCU timeline.

In Tønsberg, Norway

Legends of Norse mythology state that the Tesseract was once the jewel of Odin’s treasure room, but around 965 A.D., it was removed from Asgard and taken to Earth.

It’s unclear why the Asgardians left the Tesseract in Tønsberg, Norway; maybe these beings felt it would be safer hidden on our world, though presumably Earth was already home to the Time Stone (encased within the Eye of Agamotto) at this point. Whatever the reasoning, for over a millennia the Tesseract remained safe and away from the wrong hands, but World War II changed that.

With HYDRA

In 1942, Johann Schmidt, a.k.a. the Red Skull, arrived in Tønsberg to procure the Tesseract from an ancient church. While he initially thought it was located inside the coffin of a long-dead warrior, he soon realized this was a fake and found the real Tesseract hidden in a nearby wall. After killing the church keeper and ordering his men to destroy Tønsberg, Red Skull wasted no time in having Dr. Arnim Zola weaponize the Tesseract’s power, and the results were so effective that he decided to separate HYDRA from the Third Reich so that he could conquer the world.

By 1945, Red Skull siphoned off Tesseract energy to power numerous bombs he intended to drop on various countries, including the United States. Thanks to the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan’s interference, not only did that plan fail, but when Red Skull directly grabbed the Tesseract to use against his arch-nemesis, it transported him to Vormir, where he was forced to spend the following decades looking after the Soul Stone.

With Howard Stark

After Red Skull was transported off Earth, the Tesseract burned its way through the villain’s aircraft and fell to the ocean floor, but it didn’t stay there for long. Howard Stark, who’d already studied some Tesseract energy earlier in Captain America: The First Avenger with explosive results, recovered the cube as World War II ended.

We know Howard studied the Tesseract in the following years, as he had an illustration of it in his notes and it helped him discover a new element, which his son Tony would later synthesize to power the arc reactor keeping his heart going in place of Palladium.

At Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.

Since Howard Stark was one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D., one can surmise that the U.S. government also had access to the Tesseract after World War II. That would explain how by the late 1980s, through some unexplained sequence of events, it ended up at Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. and was studied by Dr. Wendy Lawson. As we learned in Captain Marvel, Lawson was actually a Kree scientist named Mar-Vell who defected from the Kree empire and tried to create a light-speed engine to help the Skrulls under her care find a new home. What powered this engine? Tesseract energy.

After Mar-Vell’s ship was shot down by Starforce and she was killed by Yon-Rogg, Carol Danvers, who had been working with Dr. Wendy Lawson, followed her mentor’s last instructions and destroyed the light speed engine. Carol was bathed in the Tesseract energy released in the explosion, resulting in her gaining her trademark energy powers. Six years later, Carol returned to Earth and recovered her human memories, and with Nick Fury, Maria Rambeau, Talos and Goose, she traveled to Mar-Vell’s base hidden in Earth’s orbit. There they found the Tesseract, and Goose, actually a flerken as opposed to a cat, swallowed the cube so that the Kree couldn’t take it.

With S.H.I.E.L.D.

Sometime after the events of Captain Marvel, Goose, now in Nick Fury’s care, coughed up the Tesseract on his desk. Now in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s care, the spy organization protected the Tesseract while members of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. studied it again, although they had no luck in figuring out how to tap into its unlimited energy.

After the events of Thor, Fury recruited Dr. Erik Selvig to join Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. on the hope that he could accelerate the Tesseract research. The World Security Council scrapped the Avengers Initiative in favor of Phase 2, the design of weapons that would be powered by the Tesseract that could be used against alien threats, similar to HYDRA’s World War II weaponry. Those plans never came to full fruition thanks to a certain Asgardian trickster.

With Loki

Having struck an agreement with Thanos following his defeat at Thor’s hands and banishment from Asgard, Loki came to Earth armed with a special scepter, revealed in Avengers: Age of Ultron to contain the Mind Stone. In exchange for a Chitauri army with which he could conquer Earth, Loki was supposed to deliver the Tesseract to Thanos. Loki retrieved the Tesseract from Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. with ease at the beginning of The Avengers, and with the help of some brainwashed individuals, including Erik Selvig, he was eventually able to open a portal allowing the Chitauri to come through to New York City.

Unfortunately for Loki, the newly-formed Avengers managed to work through their issues and stand in his way. Even better, though he’d been brainwashed, Erik Selvig managed to insert a flaw allowing for the Mind Stone scepter to break through the force field protecting the Tesseract and close the portal, thus thwarting Loki’s invasion. Now not only did Thanos not receive the Tesseract as promised, he also lost the Mind Stone.

In Asgard

With the Bifrost Bridge still destroyed, Thor, who had been sent back to Earth in The Avengers by Odin’s dark magic, used the Tesseract to transport himself and Loki back to Asgard. Over a thousand years later, the Tesseract was back in Asgard and given a cushy spot in Odin’s vault. It being placed there also led to The Collector being given the Aether, a.k.a. the Reality Stone, as it was deemed unwise to keep two Infinity Stones so close together.

When Hela returned in Thor: Ragnarok and went into Odin’s vault, she declared that most of the objects in there were “fake” or weak. She admitted that the Tesseract wasn’t “bad,” though her true prize was the Eternal Flame. When Asgard was later destroyed by Surtur, it was believed that the Tesseract had been lost, but all was not as it seemed.

With Thanos

After laying waste to Xandar to obtain the Power Stone, Thanos turned his attention to securing the Space Stone next. Detecting it was aboard the Statesman, the ship carrying Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, Hulk, Korg, Miek and the Asgardian survivors, it didn’t take long for Thanos and his forces to slaughter half of those survivors in the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War. The Mad Titan then arrived on the scene and started torturing Thor to get Loki to give up the Tesseract. His hand forced, Loki revealed the glowing cube; he had secretly taken it from Odin’s vault as he was retrieving the Crown of Surtur.

Thanos then smashed the Tesseract, took the Space Stone and inserted in the Infinity Gauntlet next to the Power Stone. With the Space Stone’s power, Thanos could now teleport anywhere he wished across the universe, as well as pull off feats like stopping one of Loki’s daggers, sending Iron Man’s energy blasts back at him and phasing the Hulkbuster armor into a rock wall. However, all that paled in comparison to Thanos using the Space Stone alongside the five other Infinity Stones to unleash The Decimation, which wiped out half of all life in the universe.

And that’s where we currently stand on the Tesseract/Space Stone front. Avengers: Endgame comes out on April 26, and while specific plot details for the movie are still being kept under wraps, you can be sure the Space Stone and the other Infinity Stones will factor in somehow since Thanos still had them when he retired to that serene planet at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Whether the Space Stone ends up being destroyed or ends up in the hands of another, we’ll be sure to update you on its whereabouts at the end of Phase 3.

Natalie Portman Shares Her Favorite Part About Playing Jane Foster In The MCU

Natalie Portman Shares Her Favorite Part About Playing Jane Foster In The MCU

Hey, Thor, what ever happened to Jane Foster? Okay, so maybe he’s been a bit preoccupied with his franchise redesign in Ragnarok, not going for the head in Infinity War and trying to get Captain Marvel to flinch in a stare down with her in Endgame to break the tough news, so I’ll tell you: the cute MCU couple broke up off screen between The Dark World and Ragnarok. Maybe you couldn’t tell by the hero’s breakup haircut and new space buddies he’s been hanging around with.

No matter what happened between the two, Natalie Portman made it out to the world premiere of Avengers: Endgame in Los Angeles on Monday and gushed about her time in the MCU at Marvel’s red carpet. In her words:

It's been so exciting to get to be part of this whole Marvel universe and get to see all of these incredible new characters be revealed to audiences every year and, of course, to have women in science be front and center is incredible, to spread that culture throughout the world.

Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster was a great addition to the MCU because she was such a driven scientist who played a vital part in the earlier events of the franchise with her fellow “Science Avengers,” Dr. Selvig and Darcy Lewis. Her involvement in the Thor movies was cut short when their story faced a bit of a dead end creatively. Taika Waititi came in and fixed the hero’s franchise right up with a looser, more spacier addition to the character’s story, but that meant Natalie Portman was lost her place within the MCU.

The actress was reportedly not happy with Thor: The Dark World when director Patty Jenkins left the project due to “creative differences” and Alan Taylor took over the sequel. Since Jenkins later went on to helm Wonder Woman, I’ll side with Portman on this one because the DCEU origin was much more memorable than Dark World. (Chris Hemsworth even called the movie “meh” once.)

When asked about her potential return to the MCU, Natalie Portman has showed her openness to come back if asked, but has said that as far as she knows that won’t be happening anytime soon. I wouldn’t count on it either. I just don’t see Jane Foster fitting into Thor’s character arc after his past few appearances; the vision of the franchise with the couple we saw in the beginning has grown apart into something bolder and funnier than a love story.

As indicated by Natalie Portman’s recent comments, the MCU is always shifting, changing and bringing in more exciting characters to expand the universe, such as Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, a new fan favorite in the Thor movies we can’t wait to see keep being badass. Endgame certainly promises to shake up the MCU as it will mark the end of the franchise so far … but Thor 4 may be in the works per recent words from Thompson. You never know who is going to show up in these movies, so maybe that could be a platform for Portman to return.

Godzilla Fan Dies Before Drive-In King Of Monsters Screening Can Be Arranged

Godzilla Fan Dies Before Drive-In King Of Monsters Screening Can Be Arranged

It's a scenario we've seen several times in the last few years. Somebody is a huge fan of a particular movie property, excited to see the next installment that's set to come out. Unfortunately, this fan is terminally ill and may not live until the official release date. Social media then picks up the call to try and make an early screening happen. It's remarkable how frequently these stories have had happy endings. Unfortunately, the most recent example has had no such result. George Root III, who wanted nothing more than to see Godzilla: King of the Monsters, has passed away before having a chance to do so.

It was only within the last couple of days that the story of George Root III broke through the noise of the internet to really get noticed. Root had stage four cancer and was a massive fan of two things, Godzilla and the Transit Drive-In in Lockport, New York. Root was friends with the theater's owner, Rick Cohen and it was Cohen who attempted to get his friend's dying wish to come true and get a screening of the upcoming Godzilla: King of the Monsters to screen at the theater for Root.

Unfortunately, almost as soon as the request began to pick up steam, it was announced that it was already too late. George Root III died Thursday of the cancer he'd been fighting for four years.

Part of what makes this all the more heartbreaking, is that there's a pretty decent chance that if Root had lived, he would have received his wish. This is far from the first time that a terminally ill person has made a request like this and frequently, those requests have been granted. Disney has granted personal screenings of both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avengers: Endgame to under similar circumstances. Studios have been remarkably willing to accommodate these requests so there's no reason to believe this one would have been any different.

Yesterday Godzilla: King of the Monsters director Mike Dougherty retweeted a post referencing George Root's struggle, after he had passed, which means the director had been made aware of the situation. Things really might have worked out if only the timing hadn't been so tight.

Considering that we're dealing with terminally ill patients, it's actually remarkable just how often these stories have happy endings. Of course, that makes it all the sadder that this one does not.

Still, those that picked up the call for George Root III aren't done simply because he's gone. According to the Buffalo News, those that were once campaigning to get him a screening are now campaigning to get him added to the credits of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. It would certainly be nice to see a dedication or "In memory of" added to the beginning or end of the film. Such a tribute would probably mean the world to the loved ones he left behind.

We'll have to wait and see if anything like that happens. Godzilla: King of the Monsters will be in theaters May 31.

Everything You Need To Remember About John Wick Before Chapter 3

Everything You Need To Remember About John Wick Before Chapter 3

The original John Wick was a big surprise when it landed in 2014, not just because of its insanely awesome, remarkably audacious action choreography, but also because of its adept world-building. The universe may look like our own, but it also has its own specific set of rules that influence how the characters all operate within it. This particular aspect of the franchise expanded wonderfully in 2017’s John Wick: Chapter 2, and now audiences are preparing for another dose with John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

There is one potential drawback with detailed world-building, however, and it’s the complexity that it invites. Every new chapter told within the universe means the creation of more rules, and that means each one becomes exponentially denser – which can make them challenging to watch for new audiences or casual fans. Fortunately, we’re here to help.

With John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum now just a few days away from heading towards a theater near you, we’ve put together this handy, spoiler-free guide about the John Wick universe and all of its most important characters and intricacies. Need a refresher course? Do yourself a favor and read on!

John Wick

Also known by his nickname Baba Yaga (which has the tendency to strike fear in the hearts of even the toughest men and women), John Wick is the most skilled killer that the world has ever seen. Not much is known about how exactly he acquired his deadly talents, but what has been made perfectly clear is that he has the capacity to end a person’s life with pretty much any instrument – a pencil most definitely being the most notorious.

Because of his intense abilities, he spent much of his adult life as a gifted assassin, but at one point he made the decision to try and walk away from the game for good. He was given what was thought to be an impossible task, the completion of which would lead to his freedom, and much to the surprise of everyone he actually succeeded. Sadly for him, however, he was pulled back into the world when the son of a powerful Russian Mafioso killed his dog and stole his car – leading him on a blood-thirsty quest for vengeance.

Winston

Played by the venerable Ian McShane, Winston is one of the most important characters in the John Wick franchise, and a key ally of the titular hero. He lives in New York, and is the owner of the hotel The Continental – though exactly how he acquired the establishment has not yet been revealed (we’ll get more into the details of The Continental later on). He is a very influential figure in the assassination world, and has displayed very little patience for most individuals not willing to play by the rules.

That being said, his personal history with John Wick does lead Winston to offer some leniency towards him – most notably demonstrated in John Wick: Chapter 2. At the end of that movie Winston has every right to try and kill the franchise protagonist – for reasons that will be discussed further down – but instead he offers him an hour to try and get his affairs in order.

Charon

The name Charon is likely familiar to those who know their Greek mythology, as he is the ferryman of Hades who leads souls of the deceased across the river Styx to what will be their final destination. In the John Wick universe, however, the character isn’t quite the same ominous figure. Instead, he is best recognized as the helpful concierge at The Continental, and is a long-time employee of Winston’s.

Also a friend of John Wick’s, he operates as basically any concierge at a hotel does – both checking clients into their respective rooms, and taking on tasks that are within his purview. Of course, his jobs tend to be a bit more “heightened” given the exclusive clientele that The Continental services.

The Bowery King

In the John Wick universe, it often feels like most people aren’t what they seem, and that extends to the homeless people living on the streets of New York. Rather than being simple vagrants, they are actually part of a vast network that reports to a single leader: The Bowery King. It’s through these individuals and his use of carrier pigeons that The Bowery King is able to keep entirely up-to-date with the goings on in his city – often learning about developments far faster than anyone else.

Like many, he has a complicated relationship with John Wick, though it is mostly positive. Years before his retirement, Wick spared The Bowery King’s life during a mission, so there is a certain sense of obligation that is felt. That being said, the highest priority for The Bowery King is still his network, and he doesn’t let anything threaten it.

Helen

There is exactly one reason why John Wick tried to get out of the assassin game, and her name was Helen. The notorious killer fell in love, and his desire to live a normal life with her as his wife resulted in him successfully achieving the impossible. Sadly, though, it’s a story with a tragic ending, as she wound up getting cancer and died.

The reason why John Wick was so obsessive about getting revenge for his murdered dog and his stolen car was because of their connection to Helen – as the former was a final gift from her that helped lift him out of despair, and the latter contained a birthday card and photograph that he held precious. She is the only reason he wishes to keep living, as he wants to keep the memory of her alive.

The Continental

If you haven’t figured it out by now, The Continental is a hotel that serves as a home base and neutral ground for those in the assassin game. It’s actually a global franchise, with establishments in major cities all around the world, and each one provides its clients with specific services catered towards their craft (including weaponry and specialty tailoring). The golden rule that must never be broken is that “business” must never be carried out on the grounds, and the punishment for violating this rule is death. Unfortunately, John Wick just can’t help himself following the events of John Wick: Chapter 2 – which is what catapults him into the main plot of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

The High Table

Like in any career field, there is a hierarchy in the assassin game, and sitting at the tippy-top of the ladder in the John Wick universe is The High Table. It’s a shadowy organization made up of the leaders of the most powerful crime bosses in the world, and they call all the shots and basically make all of the rules that every killer must follow. Thus far the most significant member of this group that we’ve met is Santino D’Antonio, who hired John Wick to kill his sister, Gianna, so that he could take her place. Unfortunately for him, he followed his ascension up by putting a hit on Wick’s head (big mistake) – which was a favor that the protagonist returned by putting a bullet in his head in the middle of The Continental dining room.

Markers

Remember that impossible task that John Wick accomplished in order to get out of the assassin game? It wouldn’t have been possible without the utilization of a marker – which is essentially a blood oath in physical form. When a killer needs a massive favor from somebody for any reason, they give the other person a marker, which looks like a palm-sized coin with a small door in the middle. Behind this door is a surface split in two, and the person requesting the favor leaves a bloody thumb print on one side – signifying that they will return the favor upon request (the penalty for failing to do so is death). The exchange of markers is monitored by The Continental, which has a ledger tracking debts that are both owed and paid.

Gold Coins

Because fiat money is both volatile in value and traceable, the assassin community tends not to use it. Instead, the way that killers pay for things is with specially made gold coins. They are used as payment for both items and services rendered, though their exact worth isn’t precisely determined in any of the John Wick movies thus far. One gold coin is the price for basically anything and everything, with haggling never being a thing.

“Excommunicado”

“Excommunicado” is the status that John Wick finds himself saddled with at the start of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, and it essentially translates to “open season.” Wick earns it because of his inability to resist killing Santino D’Antonio on the grounds of The Continental, and it leads to every killer in the world aiming at a target on his back (with the reward for getting the job done being $14 million). As mentioned, Winston gives Wick a bit of leeway by giving him a full hour to prepare for the onslaught, but there’s only so much you can do when assassins all around you are getting text messages notifying them of an irresistible bounty.

Do you feel like you're fully prepared now for John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum? We certainly hope so! Be sure to check out the film when it hits theaters this weekend, and stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for a whole lot more of our coverage of the movie in the coming days and weeks.