Skarsgård described his character to Total Film as such:
“The Marquis is a young man of unknown origin who has quickly climbed the ladder within the High Table doing god knows what. I always saw him as someone from the gutter that now savors the glittery suits he’s wearing. He functions as the new sheriff set out to rid the world of John Wick once and for all.”
This description makes the Marquis sound like a dark mirror of John Wick’s own nebulous origins. We know he was born into poverty in Belarus and remade himself into the world’s greatest warrior, but we don’t know how. Wick is called Baba Yaga, “the Boogeyman,” because so little about him is known.
While Wick is challenging the High Table with good old-fashioned violence, the Marquis sounds like an internal reformist who wields the rules for his own benefit. That doesn’t mean he isn’t bloodthirsty though. The Marquis is after Wick because he views him as an obstacle to remaking the world. Skarsgård continued, “John’s getting old and tired, the Marquis is offering him a way out. To be the one who finally kills the Baba Yaga would secure his status and power within the High Table.”
Wick won’t be eager to accept this way out, which is why he and the Marquis are set to duel.