So as it turns out the hotly anticipated John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum features the almost universally beloved Jason Mantzoukas in the cast, playing an assassin character named simply “Tick Tock Man.”
[jwplayer zFEc4n5L]
From that name alone we can infer two key things: 1) It sounds like exactly the kind of character Jason Mantzoukas would play, and 2) It means he’s rocking up in the movie looking strangely similar to some of his past roles.
Those suspicions were only fuelled further by the release of a character poster for the film, featuring the first look at Mantzoukas as Tick Tock Man.
Tick tock, Mr. Wick. #JohnWick3 pic.twitter.com/Z9rEQgDn1I
— John Wick: Chapter 4 (@JohnWickMovie) March 20, 2019
Top right corner there. That batshit insane gaze giving off any familiar vibes to you?
As it turns out, the Tick Tock Man/Adrian Pimento connection was made by punters almost immediately, with the gags flying in thick and fast given the poster’s extremely big Brooklyn Nine-Nine vibe.
THEY FINALLY SHOWED US JASON MANTZOUKAS!! #JohnWick3 pic.twitter.com/imQ1kup5tg
— Jamie Jirak (@JamieCinematics) March 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/JonathanBarkan/status/1108429655751700485
It is ABSOLUTELY 100% canon that John Mantzoukas’ character in John Wick 3 is Paul Sneed, the persona Adrian Pimento uses when undercover for 12 years before returning to the precinct in Brooklyn Nine Nine. I refuse to hear otherwise. pic.twitter.com/O6ZxTK8Rxh
— Thijs Meuwese (@ijsthay) March 20, 2019
— Y♠️ (@K2AYaya) March 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/tavlorhawkins/status/1108416494357176320
https://twitter.com/thecultureofme/status/1108529327120044032
It looks like Adrian Pimento is joining John Wick 😂😂 #JohnWick3 #B99 @nbcbrooklyn99 pic.twitter.com/asJ6yH6oGZ
— ((Fitzy)) 🐍 (@TheFknLizrdKing) March 20, 2019
John Wick 3 is a prequel to Brooklyn 99 and shows Adrian Pimento while he’s under cover pic.twitter.com/wKs01YmO8a
— Cam (@The__Mango_) March 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/JohnNewby247/status/1108444931436277761
And if the Pimento connection really isn’t doing it for you, there’s always the even more demented Rafi from The League.
WHAT’S UP JERKS https://t.co/bLyhR39Zt4
— AlanWCerny (@AlanWCerny) March 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/MattGoldberg/status/1108546388646858757
Spoiler: Rafi fucks John Wick https://t.co/mk2bbHg8ZE
— Zara (@ZaraBlueBarry) March 21, 2019
Oh no Rafi is going to get the worst murder boner https://t.co/SZdu0njdve
— Arif Hasan, but NFL 🏈 (@ArifHasanNFL) March 20, 2019
Rafi and John Wick in the same movie is gonna be electric https://t.co/fWROfMdW9s
— Riley (@riley_w1515) March 20, 2019
Honestly if you ask us? There’s a solid case to be made that it’s both.
Hear us out.
Rafi, distraught by his beloved sex watermelon Margaret‘s death (it’s a weird show, we know), has a mental breakdown – which in his case would technically be a mental breakup – and shifts from Chicago to New York, scoring a job with the NYPD under the assumed name Adrian Pimento.
Despite having no records of Pimento ever existing, he is hired by the force. Subsequent NYPD psychological testing shows Pimento is quite clearly unfit for active duty, however a corrupt administration sees an opportunity to send him deep undercover as the psychotic mob butcher Paul Sneed, a role he fills for 12 years.
After returning to regular police duties at the 99 and finding it unseemly, Pimento embarks on an emotionally damaging relationship with Rose Diaz before bailing on both her and the force entirely.
After trying his hand at an ordinary civilian life, Pimento finds he cannot outrun his/Rafi’s past, gets fired from his job as an Insurance investigator, returns to the unseemly underbelly of New York, and finds a calling as an assassin under the pseudonym Tick Tock Man, where he eventually crosses paths with John Wick.
Show me any part of that that doesn’t hold water.
You absolutely cannot do it.
