Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Worlds of John Wick, by Caitlin G. Watt and Stephen Watt
Part I: John Wick and Action Cinema
1. Red Circle of Revenge: Anatomy of the Fight Sequence in John Wick, by Lisa Coulthard and Lindsay Steenberg
2. Hidden in Plain Sight: Stunt-Craft Work in John Wick and the Networked Worlds of 87Eleven Action Design, by Lauren Steimer
3. Killing in Equanimity: Theorizing John Wick's Action Aesthetics, by Wayne Wong
Part II: The Economies and Phenomenology of the Wickverse
4. The Continental Abyss: John Wick vs. the Frankfurt School, by Skip Willman
5. Bitcoin, Shitcoin, Wickcoin: The Hidden Phenomenology of John Wick, by Aaron Jaffe
Part III: John Wick: Other Cultural Forms and Genres
6. Fortune Favors the Bold: The State of Games and Play in the John Wick Films, by Edward P. Dallis-Comentale
7. 'The One You Sent to Kill the Boogeyman': Folklore and Identity Deconstruction in the John Wick Universe, by Caitlin G. Watt
8. Captain Dead Wick: Grief and the Monstrous in the John Wick and Deadpool Films, by Mary Nestor
Part IV: John Wick's Matrix: Space and Time
9. Classical Orders, Modernist Revisions, Fantastical Expansions: Reading the Architecture of the John Wick Franchise, by Andrew Battaglia and Marleen Newman
10. Out of Time and Going Sideways: John Wick, Time Traveler, by Charles M. Tung
11. John Wick's Blank Cosmopolitanism and the Global Spatiality of the Wickverse, by Mi Jeong Lee
Part V: Gender and the Body in John Wick
12. John Wick's Multiply Signifying Dogs, by Karalyn Kendall-Morwick
13. Masculinity, Isolation, and Revenge: John Wick's Liminal Body, by Owen R. Horton
14. Professionalism and Gender Performance in the John Wickverse, by Vivian Nun Halloran
15. Style and the Sacrificial Body in John Wick 3, by Stephen Watt
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Caitlin G. Watt's work, which focuses on gender and sexuality and narrative theories of character in medieval romances, has appeared in Neophilologus, Erasmus Studies, Medieval Feminist Forum, and Postmedieval. Her current project examines the development of the Arthurian storyworld in medieval manuscripts. Watt is Lecturer in the Department of English at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.

Stephen Watt's most recent books include Bernard Shaw's Fiction, Material Psychology and Affect: Shaw, Freud, Simmel and "Something Dreadful and Grand": American Literature and the Irish-Jewish Unconscious. In addition, he coedited Ian Fleming and James Bond: The Cultural Politics of 007. Most of his published writing treats one of three topics: Irish Studies; drama, film, and performance studies; or the contemporary university. Watt is Provost Professor Emeritus of English and former Associate Dean of the School of Art, Architecture + Design at Indiana University, Bloomington.

Reviews

"The Worlds of John Wick is a brilliant, wide-ranging, interdisciplinary, and theoretically savvy collection on one of the most compelling and successful phenomena of action cinema in recent years: the John Wick franchise. Using approaches ranging from the discussion of 'world-building' in the 'Wickverse,' to the films' striking use of games and play, and allusions to forms such as folklore and fairy tales, the contributors present a stellar case for (re-) engaging with these remarkable movies. The chapters offer groundbreaking readings referencing Frankfurt School 'Culture Industry,' gender performance and masculinity, and much more. Caitlin G. Watt and Stephen Watt are to be applauded for their bold, original, and exciting work."—Oliver Buckton, author of The World is Not Enough: A Biography of Ian Fleming, Florida Atlantic University

"Especially because the John Wick franchise is largely viewed by the critical establishment as well-made, but fundamentally inconsequential, this volume is important in revealing the layers of meaning and significance."—James Kendrick, author of A Companion to the Action Film

"This wide-ranging and thought-provoking collection of essays is essential reading. Its breadth and accessibility will appeal not only to fans of the John Wick franchise but also to anyone interested in film, gender studies, architecture, and popular culture as a whole."—David Schmid, Professor of English, University at Buffalo

"The Worlds of John Wick explores the (first) three John Wick films. In fifteen richly referential essays, Caitlin and Stephen Watt and their contributors discuss the balletic fight choreography, allusive storytelling, underlying philosophies, folkloric roots, and more. An illuminating academic examination of one of the very best – and most popular – contemporary action film franchises."—Chris Holmlund, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

"Through an inventive array of critical lenses, methodologies, and theoretical perspectives on gender, the body, and space and time, Watt and Watt's collection explicates the crucial importance of the John Wick franchise within contemporary action cinema, confirming its place alongside the enduring legacies of action cinema icons James Bond, Ellen Ripley, Sarah Connor, and John Rambo."—Ian Kinane, editor of the International Journal of James Bond Studies