In 2023, John Wick is one of the greatest action franchises in Hollywood, which so far consists of four movies and a TV show, and has more projects on the way. But back in 2014, the title assassin played by Keanu Reeves was an unknown commodity, arriving in a month that also delivered movies like Gone Girl, Whiplash and Birdman. In fact, director Chad Stahelski was convinced the first John Wick movie would go “straight to video”; instead, it ended up making nearly nine figures.
Stahelski, who co-helmed John Wick with David Leitch (although he is credited as a producer), reflected on his initial expectation for how the movie would be delivered to and received by the masses while chatting with Yahoo. In his words:
