‘John Wick: Chapter 3' adds a few new and familiar faces, including Halle Berry and Anjelica Huston
As previously reported, we have official confirmation that Halle Berry is set to join Chapter 3 in an undisclosed role that's likely to see Berry as a high level assassin but is reportedly not the film's main villain according to sources.
The 51-year-old Oscar winner made the formal announcement in a series of Instagram posts featuring a lovely handwritten note on Continental letterhead See you in a year, Mr. Wick, and the second confirming a previous report that her character's name is "Sofia".
Lionsgate also rounded out Chapter 3's star-studded cast with the additions of Anjelica Huston as “The Director”, Asia Kate Dillon (Billions) as “The Adjudicator” of the High Table, Mark Dacascos (Brotherhood of the Wolf) as an assassin named “Zero,” and Jason Mantzoukas (The House) as the “Tick Tock Man". Additionally, John is also set to face off against a pair of baddies from The Raid franchise in Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman. And if those additions weren't enough, Reeves' Man of Tai Chi co-star Tiger Hu Chen is also confirmed for an undisclosed role!
With Lionsgate’s official plot synopsis at play the question remains, who from the new and returning cast members are with or against John? We know Chapter 2 assassins Common (Cassian) and Ruby Rose (Ares) indeed made it out alive and are set to return. Newcomer Hiroyuki Sanada (47 Ronin) joins the cast in a role that's likely to see Sanada as a High Table member. Of the three we could speculate Rose and Sanada's characters are out for blood while Cassian - who received a professional courtesy from John - may be a neutral assist along with returning characters played by Ian McShane (Winston), Lance Reddick (Charon), and Laurence Fishburne (Bowery King).
Director Chad Stahelski returns to direct from a script co-written by the franchise's godfather Derek Kolstad. Deadline reports Shay Hatton co-wrote the script along with Kolstad. Notably, that’s the same Shay Hatton whose script "Ballerina" was recently purchased by Lionsgate and Thunder Road in an attempt to expand the 'Wick' universe with a female-led spy film. Hatton's “Ballerina” script is reportedly similar to Luc Besson’s 1990 Franco-Italian action thriller La Femme Nikita, which centers on a young woman raised as an assassin who must hunt down the assassins who killed her own family.
Could Chapter 3 be setting up the franchise's expanded universe?
I suppose it's only a matter of time until we find out. John Wick 3 hits theaters May 17, 2019 (US).
