Rocky

Short Answer: Mickey's story

The Rocky franchise has had a very successful run with the Creed series. The idea was that the same way Rocky had been mentored by Apollo, he would now mentor Apollo's son, Adonis.

But another spin-off is also possible. While the Creed series spins the story into the future (Part 3 of the Creed series is slated for 2023), the mentorship chain also can be traced backward, into the past.

Rocky's beloved mentor, Mickey Goldmill-- who we see pass away in Rocky III-- also must have a story. I see the template being the very successful Ip Man series, about the man who mentored Bruce Lee (Ip man also had 4 parts and a spin-off of its own). 

There are obvious parallels between boxing movies and martial arts movies-- the Karate Kid storyline was clearly inspired by the Rocky formula, and look how well it did, how long it lasted. It also spent some time delving into the past of the mentor figure, Mr. Miyagi.

One great thing about the Ip Man movies is that they showed life in the past. The Mickey Goldmill series could do the same-- showing the early stages of organized boxing in America, when the boxer's ethnic identity was a key part of their marketing. Even Rocky was "The Italian Stallion" in his day, and that kind of branding has a long history.

And yes, we would see-- in the background, and we learned about Mickey-- how the Irish, Italian, Hispanic (to use the term from then) and other ethnic groups that boxed their way out of the slums, as well as the rise of the Black boxer. 

But, Mickey's character being Jewish, it would be especially heartening to see the Jewish boxing greats of the past, like Benny Leonard (even if they were fictionalized versions, like in Dreamgirls). Also Max Baer-- so awfully handled in Cinderella Man-- could finally find an honest, honorable depiction. 

Setting things in the 1940s and '50s is a lot of fun for the set and costume designers, the music director, and other creatives in the films. And Jewish stories set in the 1950s, like Mrs. Maisel, have a built-in audience. 

So let's plan a trilogy about Mickey Goldmill, and the events in his life that led him to fund and mentor Rocky Balboa. Figure out how old he in in the first Rocky movie, then work backward. Show us how he got into boxing, why he ended up a trainer, where he learned the techniques-- like chasing a chicken!-- that we see him use in the first three Rocky movies.

The only tricky part would be the title. Calling the movie Mickey would make people think of Mickey Mouse. For the Creed series, they used Apollo's (and Adonis') last name, but it was also handily a word. Not enough people know that Mickey's last name was Goldmill, so that might not work.

Also, Mickey last appears in a flashback scene in Rocky V, a movie that came out in 1990. There would have to be a marketing campaign reminding the public of what a central figure he was in the Rocky series. 

So a Mickey Goldmill series would have an uphill battle to fight. But that's something that's baked into the whole Rocky idea anyway. 

John Wick

Short Answer: Wick becomes the new Elder

Remember playing Tag as a kid, and there was "base" that was a spot where, if you reached it, that you could not be tagged out? That's what the Continental hotel system is-- a home base that, if you are there, no one can tag "tag" you "out." You know, assassinate you. 

Well, Mr. Wick broke that rule in Part 2, so he has to either run forever... or change the game. He can't even expect to be safe in Continental; after all, if he didn't respect its ability to protect others, why should others respect its ability to protect him?

In Part 3, Neo and Morph... I mean, Wick and The Bowery King decide to go up against the High Table.

In other words, they challenge the game itself. And start a new game:

King of the Mountain.

So that's what Part 4 needs to be. The subtitle of Part 3 is "Parabellum," which is actually two words: para bellum. They are Latin, and they mean "prepare for war." They are part of a Latin expression: "If you seek peace, prepare for war." Meaning, if you look like you mean business, no one will mess with you... so there will be peace. 

So if Part 3 means "prepare for war," then Part 4 should be that war.  

The poet Robert Frost said that "the best way out is always through." Meaning, don't run from your problems, but deal with them until they are dealt with, and then you will be done with them.

But in John Wick's case, the best way out is... up. He has to take out, or win over, all the members of the High Table-- and assume the role of Elder himself. 

In a way, this is the fulfillment of his name. The "wick" is always at the top of the candle, right?

As part of the final fight, we see that Wick having lost his finger somehow saves him, to make that worthwhile.

But he doesn't kill the Elder in the "final boss" fight. Wick's new dog does. The whole thing started in Part 1 with the death of a dog, so a dog should get the ultimate revenge for his canine brother.

So Part 4 should end with the pit bull killing the current Elder. The last shot should be Wick in the Elder's seat, then we pan to the dog sitting next to him, then zoom in on the dog's collar. Hanging from it, we see, are two wedding rings-- Wick's and Helen's. 

The whole thing was about their love, his grief at losing her, and his fury at the death of the dog that she gave him. 

It makes sense that Wick becomes the Elder. He is the best assassin, after all. It takes an army to defeat him, and so far even that hasn't worked for long. Because he always has friends to save his butt. And having developed that kind of loyalty-- among assassins!-- proves his leadership capabilities. 

Of course, it would be interesting to see which "John Wick" characters we meet in Parts 1, 2, and 3 who survived to Part 4 and could still be folded into its storyline. It would be nice to have our meeting them before pay off now. 

For sure, I think Tarasov should play a role. We haven't seen him since Part 1, but Wick spares him, so he owes Wick. He's small potatoes compared to the High Table? Well, maybe not anymore-- it's been a while and he could have risen up since then. He should be killed or wounded in a fight, saving Wick. 

Reeves is pushing 60, so maybe not an "elder" yet, but if an assassin makes it to 60? Maybe in that game, that is an elder. Only 7 MLBers have played past 50. No NFLer made it past 50. The oldest NBAer? 45. 

So if you can still win at Tag and King of the Mountain at 60, you get to be an Elder. 

Oh, and once the series ends, we should have a one-off movie about the whole global Continental Hotel system, about what an average week is like for their staff. What a place to work... 

Kingsman

Short Answer: India (and the rest of the former British Empire)

The Kingsman series has had storylines intersecting with major world events and figures, merging the elements of the Bond stories (elite British secret agents use high-tech gear to prevent major attacks) and the National Treasure series (purporting to show the "real" events behind historical milestones and figures-- the ones even those who failed middle-school history can name.)

But they also share a trait with a franchise whose one movie, sadly, prevented a movie series from developing: The Phantom. Like The Phantom, the King's Men existed over time, with various agents stepping in as "Galahad" and "Lancelot" as their predecessors are decommissioned or killed. 

It can be argued that the same is true for "James Bond"-- that the reason he is played by so many different actors is that the "James Bond" name is not that of a person but of a position, along the lines of Chief of Police... or, closer to our purposes, Green Lantern or The Dread Pirate Roberts.

In any case, my first concern was that the King's Men being not the department of a government, but a project funded by wealthy and noble families, was limiting. They would only be concerned with those situations that threatened British safety. Meanwhile, the British government sends Bond all over the world, because today's Britain is part of the global community.

Then I remembered that, oh, right-- the British Empire used to span the whole world anway. So, as long as we set the plot somewhere in the British Empire, we're fine. Time-wise, it has to be between WWI (when the third movie told us the project began) and now. But that gives us 100 years to work with.

And, since the first three movies were all about Europe (and a bit in the US [also a former British colony!]) the next stories should be set elsewhere in the Empire. And few locales are as different from Europe as India. 

We even have a name even history F-students will know-- Gandhi. Weird Al (in his "UHF" movie) wondered what Gandhi would be like in an action movie, but now we can really find out. Much of Gandhi's story plays out after WWI and he is not killed until 1948. 

The King's Man agents involved can be anyone who survived the third movie (a prequel) and but not introduced as a new recruit in the first movie. Which means we can have Harry back (played by someone else! Poor Michael Caine is 89 as of this writing. And he would have been much younger in the 1940s anyway).

The Kingsman series can continue with stories set today-- and continue to compete with Bond, Bourne, M:I,  and the other such action-plus-sci-fi-weapons franchises on that front. But as we have seen with the Indy series and the first Captain America movie (and its criminally under-seen Agent Carter spinoff), setting such stories in the past-- with steampunk and noir elements, plus period cars, sets, costumes, and music-- would really set the franchise apart in a thrilling way.

Now that Kingsman has gone into the past, maybe it should stay there awhile. But now that they have done the obvious and used Rasputin (like so many other franchises), please no Freemason plots (National Treasure did that to death). 

Instead, use the vastness of the British Empire to visit the Caribbean, the Pacific Islands, colonial Australia, even the stunning wilds of Canada. Not now, like Bond does, but back then. Between, more or less, 1920 and 1960.

And if they won't give us this, let's try The Phantom again.