Whether Winston is John’s father-in-law or Jimmy the cop is on the High Table’s payroll, there are a ton of intriguing fan theories that completely change the John Wick franchise. The John Wick movies clearly set in a heightened reality in which people aren’t bothered when a killing spree takes place a few feet away from them in a nightclub, so it’s ripe for fan theories about why this world is the way it is. Are the unfazed civilians really NPCs in an elaborate video game? Is John Wick actually stuck in The Matrix with Neo-like superhuman abilities?

There are a bunch of fascinating mysteries in the John Wick saga that have been picked apart and overthought in an endless string of fan theories. How much are the gold coins worth? Why do the cops turn a blind eye to an international network of assassins? Is John Wick a future or alternate version of a different Keanu Reeves character? There are fan theories out there with game-changing answers to all these questions.

All the NPCs are unfazed by the death and destruction around them

When John Wick is killing dozens of goons on the dancefloor of a nightclub or in the middle of a crowded Parisian street, none of the civilians seem to bat an eye – they just carry on with their day. Maybe these aren’t real people, but rather NPCs in an elaborately designed video game universe. Much like the main character in a video game, John has a much higher health level than any of his enemies and survives situations that should’ve killed him. Perhaps the John Wick movies are set in a video game universe.

9. Contract Killing Is A Legal Profession In The John Wick Universe

The cops don’t seem to mind all the murders

In the world of John Wick, people seem oddly desensitized to violence, and the cops don’t seem to mind that there’s an international network of assassins with unlimited power and resources across the globe. There’s a fan theory that, in the John Wick universe, contract killing is a perfectly legal way to make a living. This would explain why the authorities never seem to investigate any of John’s murder sprees, and why no one cares when a gunfight breaks out in a nightclub.

8. John Wick Is In Hell

Charon is named after the ferryman of the underworld from Greek mythology

From Family Guy to The Shining, it’s common for a fan theory to suppose that the lead characters are trapped in Hell. One fan theory about the John Wick franchise suggests that John spends the saga fighting his way through different levels of Hell. This theory is supported by the fact that the concierge of the New York Continental, Charon, is named after the ferryman of the underworld from Greek mythology.

7. Winston Is John Wick’s Father-In-Law

This would explain why they’re so close in a cutthroat world

One of the most popular John Wick fan theories is that Winston is John’s father-in-law. This would explain why, in a cutthroat industry where people are literally killed for making a minor misstep, John and Winston remain such close friends. If Winston is John’s father-in-law, then he’s John’s last connection to his late wife, Helen. Since this theory was formulated, the franchise has actually leaned into the idea. In The Continental prequel series, Winston is seen driving John’s 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429, suggesting he would later gift the car to his son-in-law.

6. John Wick Is In The Matrix

John has superhuman abilities like Neo

One common formula for fan theories is to connect two roles played by the same actor in different movies, like the theory that Steve Buscemi’s Buddy Holly waiter in Pulp Fiction is actually his Reservoir Dogs character Mr. Pink in hiding. There’s another fan theory connecting Keanu Reeves’ role in John Wick to his turn as Neo in The Matrix franchise. It’s possible that the John Wick franchise’s heightened reality exists within the advanced computer simulation of The Matrix, where he’s managed to harness superhuman abilities – much like Neo.

5. The High Table Uses Old Computers Because They’re Tougher To Hack

Either that or the production designer just liked the retro aesthetic

Whenever the High Table puts out an international hit or increases the price on John’s head, the John Wick movies cut to an operating room where all the clerks use old computers. The most likely explanation for these old-timey computers is that the production designer liked the retro aesthetic they brought to the franchise. But this fan theory suggests an in-universe reason for the High Table using obsolete technology: older computers are tougher to hack than newer ones. They might be doing it to protect their data.

4. Every Gold Coin Represents A Successful Assassination

What is the cash value of the gold coins?

In the John Wick universe, John pays for the services of the criminal underworld with a stash of gold coins. The movies have never revealed the exact cash value of these coins, or where John gets them from, but it’s clear that they’re very valuable and difficult to acquire. One theory posits that each gold coin is a reward for a successful assassination, and each one earns a favor in the underworld. This would explain why the coins are so valuable (and why John has so many of them).

3. John Wick Is Johnny Utah From Point Break

An FBI background would explain John’s skillset

The Matrix isn’t the only other Keanu Reeves movie that a fan theory has connected to John Wick. Another fan theory suggests that John Wick is actually Johnny Utah, Reeves’ character from the timeless ‘90s action classic Point Break. At the end of Point Break, after becoming endeared to a charming criminal mastermind, Utah turns his back on his FBI career and tosses his badge in the ocean. This theory posits that after that, Utah was recruited to become a hitman and changed his name to John Wick.

2. Jimmy The Cop Works For The High Table

That’s why he turns a blind eye to all John’s crimes

Whenever there’s a loud, violent commotion at John’s house, a police officer named Jimmy pays him a visit to see if everything is all right. Despite seeing evidence of murders taking place in John’s home, Jimmy simply turns a blind eye and wishes him a good evening. It’s possible that John saved Jimmy’s life at some point in the past, earning him a lifetime of blind-eye favors, but it seems just as likely that Jimmy is on the High Table’s payroll. He seems very familiar with the underworld in which John is a legend.

1. John Wick Faked His Death

Some fans refuse to believe he’s really gone

At the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, John is seemingly killed in his climactic gun duel with Caine. He collapses on the stairs outside the cathedral and the following scene sees Winston and the Bowery King visiting John’s grave in New York. But some fans refuse to accept that John is really gone, and have theorized that he faked his death. Throughout the whole John Wick franchise, John just wanted to be free, and the only way he could achieve freedom was in death. But what if he just convinced everyone he was dead, and only told his closest friends that he’s still alive?