Keanu Reeves, John Wick, and the myths and tensions between star brands and franchise properties

Abstract

This article examines Keanu Reeves’ role in the John Wick franchise, studying the tensions that lie between studio-managed intellectual property networks and star brand. A valuable star vehicle, John Wick embedded Reeves’ star persona within its filmic fabric, reinvigorating his star status beyond the digital memes that characterised him as the twenty-first century unfolded. John Wick was swiftly franchised, becoming an important media property in its own right, in dialogue with but also separate from Reeves’ own stardom as it expanded into a transmedia multiverse. The franchise therefore reflects wider intersections and negotiations between celebrity, star power, business strategy, and licensed properties in contemporary media industries. This article traces the production and reception around the three released John Wick films, along with their marketing and paratextual materials and multiplatform adaptations, which increasingly deviate from using Reeves as a central star figure. It investigates the value of stardom within Hollywood franchise texts, focusing on the transformative effect of John Wick on Reeves’ image and brand, the different ways in which stars stand as authenticating figures in franchise cultures, and how Reeves’ own star status is simultaneously challenged and affirmed by the franchise that has come to define his later screen career.