Hugely successful movie franchises are often prime material for brilliant fan theories, and Keanu Reeves' John Wick series is certainly one of them. Already the inspiration for a few inventive theories, such as each movie representing one of the stages of grief, another one has emerged that will definitely make you rethink what you've seen. The theory gaining steam online at the moment posits that the entire universe is actually set within a video game, and once you start digging into it, it makes a disturbing amount of sense.

The theory speculates that the whole world of John Wick is based on video games, and includes many of the same tropes and things you'd expect to see. The theorist suggests that "John Wick moves through the movie killing NPCs before encountering an end-stage boss who is usually more difficult, as well as there being "minimum dialogue during the action scenes". They quite rightly point out that most of the "dialogue takes place before and after the action scenes" which could very well suggest that these scenes are "like cut scenes in a movie".

The video game theory also goes on to explain how John Wick is so indestructible, managing to continue fighting on despite being at the sharp end of some pretty violent attacks and injuries.

"John Wick is injured regularly as he goes about John Wicking, but when he is, the injury effects are short-lived. It is as if he is picking up health packs along the way. He shouldn't be walking, let alone fighting after getting stabbed, cut, sliced and shot."

The theorist then adds some clarity to the mysterious currency that exists in the John Wick universe, explaining that "coins are used in the movie in exchange for goods/services (ok, the idea of currency did not originate in video games but gold coins remind me of Mario and Zelda)". Coins and other similar shiny talismans that can be collected are certainly a staple of video games. They also explain the peculiar obliviousness of the everyday public to the violent world around them, saying that "the background characters mostly seem quite indifferent to the rampant violence, like typical nonchalant NPCs".

The theory even includes a video game explanation of the mysterious hotel The Continental.

"The Continental is the shop / game admin area where John Wick goes to recharge his health, get supplies and save the game. In this place, the game's action stops per the rules of the Continental but these rules are flouted as John's awareness of the game around him unravels."

It really does make a lot of sense, and possibly makes the John Wick movies the greatest video game movies ever made. The theorist then elaborates on what they believe will happen with the rest of the franchise, suggesting that things could get very meta indeed.

"Future John Wick films will progress the story plot of John Wick realising he is a person controlled character in a video game and him trying to fight/shoot his way out of it to take revenge on the game creator(s) who created his wife and her death. I'd love it if at this point, John Wick is revealed to be a conscious being in the matrix like Neo, and the JW universe is one of the many simulations alluded to by the Architect and the Merovingian. John Wick does bear a likeness to Neo and the John Wick universe already has Morpheus/ Bowery King."

The idea that John Wick and The Matrix share the same world has been suggested before, and could well blow audiences' minds should it play out like this. John Wick 4 is currently scheduled for release on May 21, 2021. This comes to us from Reddit.