Summary

• John Wick: Chapter 4's ending hints at a familial connection between Winston and John, raising questions about whether Winston is John's father.
• The shared tattoo and Winston's use of "son" further fuel suspicions, but there are alternative explanations to consider.
• The spinoff series, The Continental, might reveal Winston's backstory and confirm whether he is John Wick's biological father.

John Wick: Chapter 4 ending brings the series back to basics.

While John's universe is becoming unimaginably bigger with several John Wick spinoff movies and shows in development, John Wick: Chapter 4's ending ignored that giant scope and hinted at a familial relationship instead. After his wife, Helen, ed away, Wick had nobody of any importance in his life. He definitely had allies, such as Charon, the Bowery King, and Marcus, but nobody he could lean on emotionally or turn to for advice, especially as he was adopted into the Ruska Roma and never had a proper family. However, could despite that, is Winston John Wick's father?

Winston & John Wick's Tattoos Hint At A Deeper Connection

During the penultimate scene in John Wick: Chapter 4, John dies after being shot by Caine, and Winston holds him as he es away. In the final scene, Winston and the Bowery King then bury John with a gravestone that reads, "Loving Father." Once the Bowery King leaves the cemetery, Winston rests his hand on John's grave, making a tattoo on his wrist slightly visible. Winston has worn a suit in every single one of his scenes throughout the John Wick series, and given that he was the Continental manager, Winston having tattoos was never once considered.

Only part of the tattoo can be seen, as it's mostly covered by his shirt cuff, but the ink is quite clearly the same tattoo John has - the symbol of the Ruska Roma crime syndicate. As John grew up in the Ruska Roma without knowing who his parents were, Winston's tattoo could be one piece of the jigsaw puzzle. As John Wick has so many back tattoos, Winston could be just as inked-up as his maybe-son too. However, although the tattoo could be a hint that Winston is John's father, it could simply mean that Winston has ties to the Ruska Roma organization from his past.

Why Winston Calls John Wick "Son" In Chapter 4's Ending

While Winston's hand is on John's grave, the mysterious character also has a few last words to say. The Continental manager tells John, "Farewell, my son." It seems as if there couldn't be any stronger proof of a familial tie between the two characters than Winston literally calling the departed assassin "son." That would also explain why Winston didn't actually try to kill John Wick at the end of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. Winston's "son" line could be figurative, as people often say this to close friends of no blood relation, or a sign that Winston thought of John like a son, but combined with the tattoo, suspicions arise.

What makes Winston's final words to John even more suspicious is the language in which he speaks them. Winston says, "Farewell, my son" in Russian, and as John is Russian, the parting words likely carry a deeper meaning. Even then, John Wick: Chapter 4 stops short of conclusive proof. Winston does not need to be John's father to know Russian, and he could easily have learned it while being around so many assassins from across the world. Winston may even be Russian himself, although it would be a little strange that he and John never bonded over their shared nationality during any of the times they spent together.

Why John Wick 4's Winston Twist Likely Isn't True

While the John Wick franchise is great at world-building, there has been nothing in the previous three movies that hinted toward Winston being John's biological father. Though the pair grew closer with each consecutive release, they were nothing more than allies in the John Wick series. Even if John is one of the most feared assassins in the world, it seems unlikely that Winston would have ever let his own son get so deep into this extremely violent underworld. On the other hand, Winston did give John a head start when he became excommunicado in John Wick: Chapter 2, which is a favor he would likely never grant anyone else.

The shared tattoo, the Russian farewell, and Winston's use of "son" are all suspect, but there is an alternative explanation for each of these clues. Winston likely knows Russian due to his ties with the Ruska Roma. The Ruska Roma is a huge syndicate, and it makes sense that Winston would have worked with them at some point. Additionally, "son" can be a term of endearment, just as Caine called John his "brother." Nevertheless, the John Wick: Chapter 4 cemetery scene is clearly shot and written in a way that intentionally makes audiences question John's parentage, even if John's story has come to a definitive end.

The Continental Can Finally Confirm Winston & John's Real Connection

The Continental is a spinoff prequel series that follows Winston in the 1970s as he takes over The Continental. As yet, none of Winston's tattoos have been seen, which hints that he hasn't gotten them yet. The show also hasn't revealed any ties between Winston and the Ruska Roma. However, there is a blank period in Winston's life that audiences have yet to learn about. The series opens with Winston as a young boy being arrested in New York but then cuts to 20-plus years later. There's a chance that the time in between could have seen Winston growing up in the Ruska Roma, especially if he was an orphan.

However, as Winston is 30 in The Continental, this would be around the time when John Wick was conceived. Winston doesn't have any notable love interest in the show, but he might find one. Alternatively, the only couple in the series is Winston's brother, Frankie, and Yen. The two were married and there's a chance Yen could have been pregnant. As Frankie died at the end of The Continental episode 1, that could leave Winston to help raise Yen's baby, becoming something of a father figure to who might possibly be John Wick. That would cleverly subvert expectations and still pay off the John Wick: Chapter 4 ending.

The Continental is set in the 1970s, which is likely the decade in which John was born, so the show could reveal that Winston is John's father, and might even introduce his mother. The tease in John Wick: Chapter 4 may have been a deliberate breadcrumb setting up Winston's backstory ahead of The Continental premiere. Regardless, The Continental will likely explain the meaning behind Winston's Ruska Roma tattoo. The series also revolves around real-world events, the Great Garbage Strike in the United Kingdom, hinting that it'll take place in England. In revealing so much about Winston's backstory, it will be difficult for The Continental to avoid confirming one way or another whether the hotel manager is indeed John Wick's secret dad.