The arrival of John Wick in Fortnite makes his parody character The Reaper kind of obsolete. John Wick is an action movie that seemingly came out of nowhere back in 2014 and gave the action genre a shot in the arm. Keanu Reeves played the legendary assassin, who comes out of retirement to seek revenge when his pet dog is killed during a home invasion. Reeves’ charismatic turn, the beautifully choreographed action scenes, and the surprisingly rich worldbuilding helped make John Wick a surprise hit.
Reeves soon returned for John Wick: Chapter 2 where John is again forced out of retirement and finds himself hunted by an army of assassins after a job goes wrong. The most recent entry, John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, was so successful in its first week of release a fourth movie has already been confirmed and will be released in 2021. In a movie landscape filled with PG-13, CGI filled blockbusters, John Wick filled a niche for R-rated action with practical stunts and effects. It also helps Keanu Reeves is pretty much perfect casting for the role.
To celebrate the release of the third movie a John Wick skin with Keanu Reeves likeness was added to multiplayer shooter Fortnite, alongside a limited time bounty mode and other challenges. A grim-faced John Wick looked a little out of place in Fortnite’s famously cartoony world, but it’s certainly a fun novelty to literally slip into the character’s skin.
Wick actually appearing in Fortnite also has the side effect of highlighting what a lame clone The Reaper is. The Reaper is a bearded assassin in a nice suit that looks a hell of a lot like John Wick, though more in keeping with Fortnite’s cartoony style. Of course, there’s not all that much difference in how Wick or The Reaper play, except that Wick looks more worn down and damaged after he takes a hit, just his movie counterpart.
If Fortnite players have the choice between playing as The Reaper or John Wick, however, it’s pretty obvious which skin they’ll opt for, which makes the former feel a tad obsolete. Even the trailer announcing John Wick’s arrival in the game had him facing off with his unofficial clone, so at least Epic Games acknowledges the strange overlap. It would be nice to have an official tie-in game that allowed fans to play as John Wick and experience the universe for themselves. For now, the John Wick Fortnite skin is the closest fans will get to an authentic Wick game experience.
Next: John Wick’s Real Name & Origin Explained
