Keanu Reeves’ John Wick saga is as perfect as could be, turning out to be a tremendously successful hit as opposed to the then-first-time directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch’s initial dreading expectations. It all started with former hitman Wick’s wife’s death turning all the more grievous for him as her final gift to him, a puppy, gets killed by the son of a Russian mob kingpin.
Surprisingly enough, as much as the audiences ended up loving the movie, the same could not be said about the people behind the screens during the making of the film. In fact, Stahelski and Leitch were even pitched an alternate story where the puppy is later shown to be alive. But Reeves stood up for them and the first film killed the puppy to earn the ravaging scores it so deserved.
Everyone Was Against the Puppy Being Killed in John Wick: Chapter 1
As fans of the saga already know, when Wick’s wife dies, he resorts to taking care of the small puppy – her final gift to him – as a way of dealing with his grief all the while keeping memories of his wife intact through it. That said, the puppy getting savagely murdered by the son of a Russian mob kingpin is the very event that triggers him to get back on the road to seek justice.
However, the idea of the puppy’s death wasn’t welcomed by everyone. As the then-first-time director Leitch confessed in an interview with Business Insider about everyone’s reaction to this one scene: We were told, “It’s bad luck.” “It’s bad juju.” “It’s ‘Old Yeller,’ you can’t do this!” “No one will want to see this on-screen; you’re going to alienate the audience.”
In response, David Leitch had a perfectly reasonable justification.
I’m like, “We’re going to execute people at close range; killing the dog is one thing, but what about the brutal massacre of all these human beings? Are they going to be able to accept that?” They didn’t understand that we were making a genre movie. We are genre fans to the core, and we know those hard-boiled moments are what make memorable moments.
Then the day of the shoot came, and the scene – which Chad Stahelski and Leitch prepared very emotionally intricately to pull that perfect string on the audiences – was finally to be put to test by Reeves. And, of course, the actor didn’t disappoint, as Stahelski explained his performance: “Keanu was acting with a stuffed dog. Crying. He’s all beat up. He looks awful in his pajamas.”
But this mere emotional impact further had everyone questioning the importance of the scene in the saga. As Stahelski shared, “Everyone behind the monitors must have thought, ‘Okay, this is the worst idea; these first-time directors are done.’ For the next couple of weeks, it was suggested that we shoot an alternative ending revealing that the puppy actually isn’t dead.”
To say the least, this roller coaster ride didn’t have everyone on board from the beginning, especially for the puppy-death scene because of its brutality. This alternate storyline suggestion further demonstrates how much the first-time filmmakers were doubted back then. But then the hero, Keanu Reeves, stepped up, and the film managed to keep this essential element intact.
Had it Not Been for Keanu Reeves, the Film Probably Wouldn’t Have Killed the Puppy
Since the puppy’s death was the very thing that had his grief for his wife’s loss turn into anger and instilled that feeling of revenge in Wick, it wasn’t really a plotline the filmmakers could lose. That said, Keanu Reeves didn’t hesitate to take a stand for the action hero to keep this heart-wrenching scene in the film, and producer Basil Iwanyk stood up to the investors for the same.
As Stahelski continued to reveal during the same interview: “Keanu stood up for us. And Basil stood up to the investors, and eventually, they just felt, ‘F–k it, let’s see what these guys can do.’ ” That was that, and, despite being first-time film helmers, both Chad Stahelski and David Leitch were given enough creative ground to explore where their imagination would take them.
Of course, their imagination did have them taking rather brutal turns, but it was all for the better. At the end of the day, pretty much every decision they took – cruel or bitterly emotional – cooked in their favor as not only did the film end up grossing $86 million on its $20 million budget (via Box Office Mojo), but it also managed to spawn multiple sequels and spin-off projects, launching Stahelski, Leitch, and Reeves to extraordinary heights of stardom.
The John Wick film series can be streamed on Peacock and Starz.
