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Ana de Armas’ spinoff, Ballerina, is just around the corner. Just last month, John Wick 5 was announced at Las Vegas’ Cinemacon. A behind-the-scenes documentary was just released, and several spinoff projects are coming. The assassin world initially created by ’ one-man army character is killing it at the box office (pun intended). The four movies surrounding John Wick have been more than enough to explore the titular character’s backstory (originally an orphan, his relationship with the High Table, dead wife, dead dog, the list goes on). But what if the assassin’s origins could lie in an underrated cyberpunk film from the mid-90s? Surprisingly, this action film starring Keanu Reeves in the lead role initially received negative reviews. Now, it's considered a cult classic.

Based on a short story by the same name released in 1985, was director Robert Longo’s feature film debut. In this world, megacorporations ruled, and technological implants caused a new plague called nerve attenuation syndrome (or NAS) to run rampant.. To initially take this job, he had to suppress his childhood memories, but now wants them back and is taking high-yield assignments to pay for the procedure. The latest mission puts Reeves’ messenger in some very hot water as a new digital dossier could not only put an end to the worldwide virus afflicting so many but also kill him in the process.

After Johnny Mnemonic first came out, many different critics felt that the movie’s overall direction cared more about computer graphics special effects and a video game likeness more than anything else. Granted, cutting-edge CGI was more experimental than anything else back then. . But the question must be asked: is a rough draft of John Wick hiding underneath all that futuristic dressing? Well, the Yakuza being in both of these movies is already a good sign, right?

There are lots of tiny details we can pick at if we want to. . Then, there’s the name. John and Johnny. Trivial, but worth pointing out. But there is something bigger here both characters are chased by antagonistic forces. At one point, John Wick has a bounty on his head (which keeps on going up) and Johnny (in Johnny Mnemonic) has confidential data in his head which both make them highly valuable to the right people.

While the inevitable chase sequences are more fleshed out in director Chad Stahelski’s movies, Johnny’s confrontations with Shinji (who wields a laser whip) and the Street Preacher (played by Dolph Lundgren) are equally creative, featuring stylized weapons and larger-than-life foes (which are aplenty in the John Wick franchise). As you can tell, the Street Preacher brings a religious motif into play. Though unrelated, the same worldly themes are present in the newer assassin movies.

Even though John Wick is set in modern times and Johnny Mnemonic is set in a dystopian future, character foils still play a huge part in tethering these movies together. Dina Meyer’s Jane and Bridget Moynahan’s Helen Wick are supporting protagonists who drive their male counterparts toward action. The once peaceful memories of Helen, which quickly become disturbed, prompt Wick to return to his former life. Jane, being afflicted with NAS, is a major factor in Johnny completing his true destiny. Not only do the women turn out to be major catalysts of the story, but isn’t it funny how both films (well, in John Wick’s case, a franchise) also somehow revolve around a non-human figure being a major mover?

In Johnny Mnemonic, the only entity that can help Reeves’ character bring his old memories back is a cybernetically-enhanced dolphin named Jones (along with an AI version of Johnny’s mom). In John Wick, a beagle puppy named Daisy (connected to John’s wife) is killed by russian gangsters and sets the once-retired assassin in an epic four-movie saga.

. There might be no real-life connection between directors Longo and Stahelski, but these Keanu Reeves movies are eerily similar when put side by side. If you want to see it for yourself, all four John Wick movies are available to stream on Peacock, while Johnny Mnemonic is on Pluto TV for free.