Dogs finally get their revenge in 'John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum'

The entire John Wick franchise was set into motion by the death of a dog. Now, in John Wick: Chapter 3 -- Parabellum, the canine species finally gets a shot at revenge.

In footage revealed exclusively at CinemaCon, two Belgian shepherds owned by Sofia (Halle Berry) take an active role in the fight, bringing down the bad guys who would harm Sofia and John (Keanu Reeves).

The scene opens with the two human assassins in what looks like a desolate, deserted castle, preparing for some dramatic event to come.

Then the henchmen arrive and the shooting starts, and Sofia's dogs spring into action. They race ahead to take down minions for Sofia to shoot. One mauls a guy, sending him off the side of a high wall.

At one point, Sofia spots a baddie coming at them from above -- so she bends over and lets one of her dogs springboard off her back, leap onto that high wall, and attack that dude directly.

Mind you, Sofia and John are in the battle as well, frantically running around and shooting at nameless villains in the gracefully choreographed way we've come to expect from these films.

At one point, John finds himself face to face with an enemy, both of them desperately reloading their guns. John fires point blank at his face before the baddie even has a chance to say anything, because John Wick is all business.

Still, make no mistake: Parabellum knows exactly how long we've been waiting to see some dogs fuck some shit up. And so does Berry -- at the Lionsgate presentation, she praised the series' "heart," pointing to John's love for his dog as "the sentiment that hooked me in the beginning."

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to watch to the end of the scene, so I can't tell you how the dogs come out of the fight.

But I'm going to assume they're OK -- if only because Lionsgate, of all studios, should know exactly how seriously moviegoing audiences take the well-being of dogs.

John Wick: Chapter 3 -- Parabellum arrives May 17.