Once fans begin speculating on who would win in a fight between any two given characters from any franchises, it means those franchises have officially "made it." Hey, those are the rules. On that note, the newly-released Bob Odenkirk-led film Nobody has earned its stripes in this regard thanks to a recent interview with the actor which brought up that very subject. The opposing character? None other than the puppy avenger himself, Keanu Reeves' John Wick.
Even for those who haven't seen Nobody yet (understandable, since this very much seems like an ideal theater movie), it's clear that Odenkirk's character Hutch Mansell is an absolute wrecking ball of lethality. Plus, the similarities between this movie and the John Wick films have been readily apparent since the first trailer for Nobody dropped. So it was only a matter of time before an interviewer decided to ask Odenkirk directly what might happen if Hutch ever got in a crossover-style duel with Reeves' ruthless assassin character.
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Well, Odenkirk had his own special answer to that question. "John Wick lives in this netherworld of bad guys and cool places with glass walls," he said in an interview discussing his current show Better Call Saul with The Hollywood Reporter, "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." Odenkirk's rather masterful sidestepping of the question could be a coy refusal to reveal something, or more likely just his own way of opting not to stir the pot. That might be a smart move, considering how fans can easily take an out-of-context answer and run with it. (Well, fans and news story writers.)
The idea of a John Wick and Nobody crossover comes from more than just the thematic similarities between the two. Aside from the rather familiar structural footprint left by this duo of film universes, they also share writer Derek Kolstad, who created both franchises and wrote for all of the films involved. Nobody even features Daniel Bernhardt as one of its baddies, after the same actor also showed up as Krill in the first John Wick film. Plus, as if those aren't enough of a connection, Odenkirk even trained at the same gym as Reeves in his journey from comedy writer to action hero. Obviously, all of those are much more likely to be coincidences. But hey, if there's even the slightest possibility, there's a story.
Nobody appears to be an excellent stand-in for any fans getting impatient for the next John Wick film, and as a bonus, it shakes things up a bit by keeping a similar structure while giving moviegoers a whole new story and cast of characters to enjoy. It's clear the familiar elements are likely intentional, at least as far as being a bit of a staple for Kolstad's films. There's a reason he's currently tapped to write the upcoming film adaptation of the Just Cause game series, after all.
So whether or not audiences will ever be treated to a duel between these two retired assassins, audiences can rest easy knowing there will probably always be more films like them somewhere on the horizon. Hey, maybe Odenkirk can start a trend of comedy actors turning into brutal action stars. Aparna Nancherla mowing her way through a sea of gangsters, anybody?
Nobody is now playing in theaters and John Wick: Chapter 4 is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 27, 2022.
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Source: The Hollywood Reporter