One really has to hand it to Keanu Reeves. The guy has a knack for starring in zeitgeist-defining action films, with him leading Point Break, Speed and The Matrix. Yet, perhaps his most iconic character, John Wick, is the most unlikely success story of them all. It was seen as an upstart indie flick which came close to going direct-to-video, only for it to become one of the most successful action franchises of all time, and a property that’s unlikely to die anytime soon, even if its own hero’s survival is kind of up in the air right now post John Wick 4. With Keanu Reeves reprising the role in Ballerina, now’s a good time to look back at how this little action franchise that could came to be.
Flashback to the fall of 2014. Keanu Reeves, while already a legend, was struggling to reinvent himself as a now middle-aged star. He hadn’t led an actual hit movie since The Matrix trilogy wrapped up, with movies like Constantine, despite its eventual cult following, performing softer than expected. His big-budget Day the Earth Stood Still remake turned a profit, but he had a disaster with The 47 Ronin, which was the biggest flop of 2013. Ironically, the director of that film, Carl Rinsch, would later be arrested for wire fraud and money laundering following a dispute with Netflix over a series that they spent millions on and never came out. Keanu’s career was in such a bad way that when he signed on to do John Wick, no one thought anything of it.
The film started as a spec script called Scorn, from writer Derek Kolstad, which found its way to producer Basil Iwanyk, who was friends with Keanu Reeves’s agent. The star himself brought the script to Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, with whom he’d worked on The Matrix films. They made huge waves as fight choreographers and action directors in movies like Dredd, The Mechanic, and The Wolverine. They had started their own company, 87 Eleven Productions, and were keen to direct a film of their own.
John Wick would be their movie, but with Keanu’s star power not what it once was, the budget was low and raised independently, with even Eva Longoria aboard as a partial financier. The silver lining of the low budget was that Stahelski and Leitch couldn’t afford to use CGI or multi-camera setups, and had to do all the action for real. This is what made John Wick such a sensation, with Reeves, who was already proficient in martial arts and weapons handling, being given a crash course in stunt driving and various martial arts disciplines, including judo, Japanese jujutsu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a, as well as undergoing tactical-gun training with the Los Angeles SWAT and Navy SEALs.
When the film was done, the directors took their time crafting it, seeking input from previous collaborators such as James Mangold. But no one wanted the movie. Mere months before it came out, it screened for industry buyers, and Lionsgate was the only company to make an offer. However, they offered a rock-bottom price with no screen commitment, which suggested the movie would go directly to video. This had more or less happened to a few previous Keanu Reeves movies, Man of Tai Chi (which he also directed) and would happen to others like Knock Knock, The Whole Truth, Exposed, and more.
What saved the movie was the fact that it screened at Fantastic Fest in the fall and absolutely rocked the various screenings. It was such a festival favourite that more screenings were added, and suddenly Lionsgate had some faith in the movie. They gave it a theatrical run, and even an IMAX release, although the advertising budget was low. While it is considered a hit now, it was only a modest success, making $43 million domestically and about the same overseas. Yet, because it cost so little, it turned a profit.
While that could have been the end of the story, giving everyone involved a nice little win, John Wick became a big hit on DVD/ and streaming. Lionsgate, perhaps sensing this would be a franchise that could grow, like what happened with New Line when they did the Austin Powers movies, greenlit a sequel, which would be directed by Chad Stahelski alone, while Leitch went on to make Atomic Blonde. The budget was still thrifty, costing around $40 million, which was bargain basement for the era. It was a wise choice, with the film doubling what its predecessor made. Amazingly, the same thing happened again when they made John Wick 3 – Parabellum, with the film again doubling what the last movie made, to the point that it made $327 million worldwide, and was an all-out blockbuster. The fourth film would be even bigger, falling just short of $450 million worldwide. And that is how an action legend is born! While it remains to be seen if Wick will indeed return, Lionsgate, who made the stead of the century when they acquired the rights to the original film, have already got a spin-off, Ballerina, in theaters (with a special appearance by John Wick himself) and have a Donnie Yen led spin-off called Caine ready to go, plus an anime, tv series and more planned. Pretty good for a movie that almost went direct to video!
