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HBO’s 91-Minute ‘John Wick’ Replacement Is Officially Taking Over

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At one point, Bob Odenkirk decided he was no longer content just being the slimiest lawyer on television and the world’s most deplorable conman, he wanted to become John Wick. Well, it’s nice to have dreams, right? And he was good at it! Who knew? Nobody proved that Saul Goodman could absolutely kick your ass, turning the Better Call Saul star into one of action’s most unlikely leading men. If you thought Nobody was it, think again.

Normal is officially charting on HBO Max after arriving on the platform on August 14. The 91-minute action thriller reunites Odenkirk with Nobody writer and John Wick creator Derek Kolstad, while Kill List and Free Fire filmmaker Ben Wheatley directs. And at roughly an hour and a half, it doesn’t exactly overstay its welcome. It’s Odenkirk, a small town hiding something nasty, the creator of John Wick and the director of Free Fire smashing everything together for a wild ride.

For Sheriff Ulysses (Odenkirk), his provisional posting to the quaint Midwestern town of Normal was meant to be a welcome respite from both his marital woes and recent moral injuries in the line of duty. But when a botched bank robbery interrupts the municipality’s tranquil pace, a dark secret is inadvertently exposed, and Ulysses soon discovers that the town (and its mayor, played by Henry Winkler) is anything but its namesake.

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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz
Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive?
The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars

Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.

💊The Matrix

🔥Mad Max

🌧️Blade Runner

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🏜️Dune

🚀Star Wars

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01

You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do?
The first instinct is often the truest one.





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02

In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely?
What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.





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03

What kind of threat keeps you up at night?
Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.





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04

How do you deal with authority you don’t trust?
Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.





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05

Which environment could you actually endure long-term?
Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.





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06

Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart?
The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.





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Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all?
Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.





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08

What would actually make survival worth it?
Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.





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Your Fate Has Been Calculated
You’d Survive In…

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

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The Resistance, Zion

The Matrix

You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.

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  • You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
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The Wasteland

Mad Max

The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.

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  • You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
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Los Angeles, 2049

Blade Runner

You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

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  • You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
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Arrakis

Dune

Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

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  • Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
  • You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
  • Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
  • In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.


A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Star Wars

The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

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  • You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
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  • You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
  • In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.

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Who Stars in ‘Normal’?

The similarities to Nobody are hardly accidental. Odenkirk co-wrote Normal alongside Kolstad, who wrote the original John Wick and created the franchise before going on to write Nobody. Wheatley brings his own taste for chaotic violence to the director’s chair, resulting in a movie Rotten Tomatoes describes as delivering “over-the-top carnage.”

Normal also features Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) as Moira, Ryan Allen (Between) as Deputy Blaine Anderson, Billy MacLellan (Nobody) as Deputy Mike Nelson, Reena Jolly (SkyMed) as Lori, Brendan Fletcher (The Revenant) as Keith, Peter Shinkoda (Daredevil) as Joe, Jess McLeod (One of Us Is Lying) as Alex, and Derek Barnes as James.

Critics have largely enjoyed Odenkirk’s latest excursion into action territory. Normal currently holds a 77% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes alongside a 76% verified audience score, with the critical consensus praising Odenkirk’s “gruff yet playful presence” and Wheatley’s commitment to ridiculous, bloody entertainment.

Normal is streaming now on HBO Max.

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Release Date

April 16, 2026

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Runtime

91 minutes

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