- Directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch were pressured to film an ending where John Wick’s dog survives.
- “We were told, ‘It’s bad luck.’ ‘It’s bad juju,'” Leitch told Business Insider.
- Keanu Reeves stepped in and supported his directors.
One of the seminal moments in the “John Wick” franchise is the murder of Wick’s puppy — which was the final gift to him from his late wife — at the hands of a mobster. The traumatic moment is what kicks off the movie, acting as the plot engine that finally motivates Wick to return to the deadly underworld he’d left behind to seek his revenge.
But that moment could have been entirely different if the suits involved in “John Wick” had gotten their way. In Business Insider’s interview celebrating the movie’s 10th anniversary, directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch recalled being pressured to film an ending in which the puppy lived.
“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,'” Leitch said. “And 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?'”
The vibes on set weren’t any better when the then-first-time filmmakers shot the scene.
“On the day, Keanu was acting with a stuffed dog. Crying. He’s all beat up. He looks awful in his pajamas. Everyone behind the monitors must have thought, ‘Okay, this is the worst idea; these first-time directors are done,'” Stahelski told BI.
Stahelski said for weeks, the pressure grew for him and Leitch to shoot an alternate ending where it’s revealed that the puppy actually lived. Finally, the movie’s star, Keanu Reeves, and the lead producer on the movie, Basil Iwanyk, stepped in.
“Keanu stood up for us,” Stahelski said. “And Basil stood up to the investors, and eventually, they just felt, ‘Fuck it, let’s see what these guys can do.”
“They didn’t understand that we were making a genre movie,” Leitch said. “We are genre fans to the core, and we know those hard-boiled moments are what make memorable moments.”
Ultimately, “John Wick” became a surprise box office hit, earning over $86 million on a $20 million budget. It’s now regarded as one of the best action movies ever made.
Meanwhile, dogs would become a major theme in the “John Wick” franchise. In the third movie, Halle Berry plays a former assassin who has two kevlar-vested dogs as her companions, and the fourth showcases a dog by the side of bounty hunter Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson).
