The John Wick franchise has a wide cast of A-list stars, but it’s easy to forget that Bridget Moynahan is among them. The actress is not closely associated with the series, but she has played an important role from the beginning: John Wick’s late wife Helen. Moynahan was at the premiere of John Wick: Chapter 4 this week, so it’s safe to assume she will be making a dreamy, ethereal performance in the franchise’s latest installment.
Fans were introduced to John Wick (Keanu Reeves) as a man grieving for his recently deceased wife, who is shown in a few flashbacks with very few speaking lines throughout the series. As her last act, she gifts John with a puppy, and he is protective of it as the last vestige of his marriage. Over the course of the first movie, viewers come to understand that John was a ruthless and deadly assassin before he married Helen and that he went to great lengths to extricate himself from that criminal lifestyle. The series then tracks his descent back into it and his questioning whether he is dishonoring Helen by doing so.
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In the first movie, there are many cut scenes showing John Wick with Helen, and some alluding to her death from an unspecified chronic illness. She appears in the second movie as well, again with a dream-like quality so that viewers understand they may not be seeing literal memories, but sensory impressions as John himself remembers them. However, Helen did not show up in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum at all, perhaps indicating that John’s arc has taken him so deeply into his criminal past that he can’t hold onto his memories of a happy reprieve anymore.
Moynahan was at the New York City premiere of John Wick: Chapter 4 last week, even posing for journalists on the red carpet. So far, she hasn’t been credited on the movie’s IMDb page, and she hasn’t shown up in any trailers or promotional material. That doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s not in the movie, as casting choices can often be kept secret before a movie’s release. On the other hand, she might have attended the premiere simply to support her colleagues and the franchise she helped build.
If Moynahan does make an appearance in John Wick 4 it could signal another narrative shift for the series. After her absence from Chapter 3, a reappearance here might indicate that John is facing his true demons – his grief – and climbing back out of the darkness he is mired in. This would be a fitting climax for a movie series about reluctant killing sprees and revenge, especially since director Chad Stahelski has hinted that he wants to take a long break from the mainline John Wick series after this.
John Wick: Chapter 4 premieres in theaters everywhere on Friday, March 24. At the time of this writing, you can stream the first three movies in the franchise via Peacock.
