The Beekeeper has the potential to be Jason Statham’s version of the John Wick franchise, but the first movie did make it a bit tougher for that to come to fruition. The success of Keanu Reeves’ action movies has inspired countless copycats over the last several years. While Jason Statham is already established as an action movie star, he did not have his own ongoing hitman franchise when he signed up for The Beekeeper. The original action film is not quite as direct of a John Wick clone as other modern movies, but it still borrows quite a bit.
Hopes that The Beekeeper could become a major new franchise for Jason Statham skyrocketed following the film’s box office performance. It made $152 million worldwide, nearly double what the first John Wick made. That establishes a stronger chance that The Beekeeper’s ending will not be the last time audiences see Statham play Adam Clay, even if a sequel has yet to be officially announced. If The Beekeeper 2 happens, there is one issue with the franchise that it needs to overcome to rival John Wick.
The Beekeeper Didn’t Set Up An Assassin Underworld As Well As John Wick
The Established Lore Is Limited
One of the many strengths of the original John Wick is how well it set up the basics of its assassin underworld. The Continental hotel, John Wick’s past, multiple assassins, and key elements and rules of this world were all established within the first movie. This proved great for the franchise’s future, as John Wick sequels could build on what was already established and flesh out several details. It became quite easy to imagine how Reeves could return as John Wick and expand the world based on what the first movie established, but The Beekeeper was not as successful there.
The Beekeeper took a different approach than John Wick by focusing even less on worldbuilding. There is an introduction to The Beekeepers organization and a brief establishment that there are other Beekeeper agents. However, the future of Adam Clay is not as clear. He killed the only other Beekeeper agent confirmed to be active, leaving Statham’s franchise in a spot where it is not established that other assassins could come for him. The result was The Beekeeper had many unanswered questions as the focus stayed on the action and entertainment. It falls short of John Wick in that regard.
The Beekeeper 2 Needs Better Worldbuilding To Give Statham A Long-Running Franchise
The Sequel Can Flesh Out The Franchise
It would be in The Beekeeper 2’s best interest to explore the lore and history of this universe better. John Wick: Chapter 2 did this in some significant ways, expanding the depths of the underworld with the Bowery King’s organization, adding the blood oaths, and increasing the number of assassins at odds with Wick. The Beekeeper 2 could do a much better job of exploring what The Beekeepers organization actually is, how they operate, Clay’s backstory, and the state of other hired guns. If The Beekeeper wants to be as big as John Wick, fleshing out this world is necessary.
