The creators of John Wick reveal what a huge thing they almost changed in the movie

The John Wick franchise is now mentioned in the same breath as legendary action films like James Bond and Mission Impossible, but the original film was almost completely different from the story we love today.

The directors recently revealed that they considered not killing the puppy in the opening scene, which would have fundamentally changed Keanu Reeves’ character.

In a new interview to mark the tenth anniversary of its release, John Wick directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch reflected on the film’s shaky beginnings in 2014, when they were confident it would be sent straight to video without fanfare.

After fighting for a spot on the show, they didn’t have much hope that the pre-show would gain much acceptance from the audience, they told Business Insider this week.

To their surprise, the audience quickly believed the story and loudly expressed their approval as the action unfolded.

“Keanu turned to me and said, ‘Hey, I think they like it!’ – Stahelski recalls. “We were impressed.”

The film opens in a memorable way, setting the tone for the entire series (which now consists of four installments), with former assassin Reeves mourning the death of his wife and bonding with the puppy she left him, which was her final act.

When a member of the Russian mafia kills a puppy, Reeves puts on the now iconic black suit and sets out on a bloody pursuit of revenge.

It has long been a rule in cinema that if you introduce a dog to the audience and then kill it, you better have a good reason, because the audience will surely react instinctively and emotionally.

True, there is even a popular website where users can view videos and check if a dog has died, aptly named: www.doesthedogdie.com.

The genius of starting John Wick this way is that viewers will surely be rooting for the vengeful hero from that point on.

No matter how many moral gray areas he wanders into, fans will remember this puppy and be glued to the screen, wishing all the best to the person responsible for hurting this poor boy.

This phenomenon is at the heart of the simple genius of John Wick, but Leitch told Business Insider that many had doubts about the choice.

He said: “We were told, ‘It’s bad luck.’ “That’s bad juju.” “It’s Old Yeller, you can’t do this!” “No one will want to see it on screen; you will turn off the audience.”

He explained that because the two decided to make a “genre film”, viewers would remember “difficult moments” such as the death of the dog.

Stahelski added: “We were supposed to use a children’s lens; John gets hit on the head hard, so it’ll be like he’s in a dream; the dog’s death happens off-camera, and afterwards you see a streak of blood that makes it look like the puppy is trying to crawl to it.

Explaining how Reeves played the scene that day, Stahelski said the beloved actor filmed the scene in worn-out pajamas and acted with a stuffed dog.

He continued: “Over the next few weeks, it was suggested that we shoot an alternate ending that would show that the puppy wasn’t actually dead. But Keanu stood up for us.

Ultimately, the directors were allowed to stick with the original premise of the dog’s violent death, and the film was a surprise box office hit, grossing over $86 million on a $20 million budget.

The rest, as they say, is history. John Wick did so well that it spawned an entire series of three sequels, a TV miniseries (The Continental), and soon its first feature film (Ballerina), as well as an anime series.

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