JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3

Keanu Reeves’ hitman ended 2017’s action sequel John Wick: Chapter 2 with a $14 million contract out on his life. Which is exactly how John Wick: Chapter 3 (out May 16) begins. “The third chapter is literally connected to 2 and starts with John Wick on the run,” Reeves tells WHO. “It goes crazy from there.”

Some of that craziness involves Sofia (Halle Berry), a new character Wick meets in the Middle East. “She has a past with John,” says Reeves. “I end up going to find her to see if she can help me.” Sofia has two Belgian Malinois dogs, which continues the tradition of canine-centric plotlines in a film series whose first entry, 2014’s John Wick, featured Reeves’ character going on a killing spree after the murder of his four-legged friend. “Whereas John’s puppy was symbolic of his wife, Halle’s two dogs are symbolic of someone she’s lost,” says director Chad Stahelski, who says they developed an action sequence around her “canine assistants. They work very well tactically.”

Other newcomers include Mark Dacascos and Asia Kate Dillon, who play characters associated with the criminal council known as “The High Table.” There’s also Hollywood legend Anjelica Huston as “someone who was responsible for [ Wick’s] upbringing and his protection,” says Stahelski, who calls Chapter 3 “a little bit of an origin story.” The filmmaker says the movie’s death count will “land slightly north” of the previous film’s.

Stahelski reveals he would happily make a fourth John Wick film if the audience enjoys this movie, but he isn’t counting his chickens on that score. “We did the first one and were like, ‘ They’re going to laugh at us,’ ” he says. “This one, I’m already looking for janitorial jobs.”