John Wick: 10 Facts You Didn’t Know About The Film

Here is a list of some surprising facts about the John Wick film franchise we bet many of us don't know, read more in the story.

Dashing Hollywood star Keanu ReevesJohn Wick (Part 1) got released for the first time across the theater screens in the year 2014. The film proved to be a massive hit and was applauded for its ultimate style of action sequences which were never witnessed before by the global audience.

For all we know, John Wick as a film boosted the entire professional career of actor Keanu Reeves from time then, and now the film franchise is back with the most awaited – “John Wick – Chapter 4” which got released on 6th March 2023 in London (UK) and on 24th March through a worldwide release. With lots of love that has been showered by the massive audience on the film and Keanu Reeves, the franchise has now completed ten years with the latest release.

While most of us know about the actor and this film in general, there are few hidden facts about the film we bet many of us don’t know. So, here we have a countdown of some of the most interesting facts about the John Wick film franchise:

10. John Wick was a surprise hit.
Keanu Reeves has been one of the most successful actors but he was not having successful hits in the action genre after “The Matrix” film franchise. “John Wick – Chapter 1” which was made on a budget of about 20 million dollars tasted the success of about 88 million dollars worldwide.

9. Keanu Reeves was not in good health during the shoot.
Keanu Reeves was badly ill when he was shooting for the part 1 of John Wick. Despite being ill Keanu shot the toughest action sequences on his own, which is unbelievable.

8. John Wick‘s director was Keanu Reeves‘s stuntman in “The Matrix“.
Director of John WickChad Stahelski” has a prior history of working with Keanu Reeves. They both worked together in the 1996 film “The Matrix“, where Stahelski served as the stunt double for Keanu.

7. Black suit was a part of the film’s success.
The Black suit for the film was designed by a prominent Italian designer Luca Mosca. The Black suit helped Keanu to get in the skin of the character while the audience also loved Keanu with this new suit.

6. John Wick may have had a military connection in the past.
If you have watched part one of the film, you may have come across a scene where John Wick is taking a shower and the actor’s back was shown with a tattoo. The tattoo includes a popular phrase ‘Fortis Fortuna Aduivat‘ which means fortune favors the strong. This phrase is mostly used by military units all over the world, so there is a strong chance that John Wick has a military connection in the past.

5. Keanu himself gave some important inputs to the film.
John Wick‘s writer Derek Kolstad said in an interview:

“Keanu has given some important inputs for the character of John Wick and as well as for other important characters.”

Derek Kolstad

“Keanu’s suggestions helped me refine the characters of the film.”

Derek Kolstad

4. Keanu Reeves learnt Judo and Jiu-Jitsu for the film.
According to Chad Stahelski, the film required fine-fast fighting scenes for which he wanted Keanu to learn Judo and Jiu-Jitsu, and get in shape.

“He spent four drastic months getting in shape, learning Judo and Jiu-Jitsu. Reeves learned Judo with two other types of Jiu-Jitsu”

Derek Kolstad
Credit: @johnwickmovie on Instagram.

3. New type of Gun-Fu was invented in the film.
Chad Stahelski created a new type of Gun-Fu (Kung-Fu mixed with gunfight style) for the film. This was the new type of Gun-Fu where Keanu mixed his close combat fighting skills with weapons which were very hard to perform for anyone else. Keanu blended Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Tactical 3-Gun, and Close Judo with Gun-Fu.

2. Keanu Reeves was not the first choice for John Wick.
Chad Stahelski and film writer Derek Kolstad penned the original script with the old actor Paul Newman in mind. The first choice for John Wick was Paul Newman but Keanu Reeves expressed his interest in the film, and Stahelski, an older friend of Keanu, finally offered the lead role to Keanu instead.

1. ‘John Wick‘ was not the original title of the film.
The original title of the John Wick film franchise was ‘Scorn‘. The name of the film was changed because Keanu Reeves forgot the name of the film and he himself used to refer to it as John Wick. Then finally, the makers of the film changed the title of the film from ‘Scorn‘ to ‘John Wick‘.

“John Wick – Chapter 4” Official Trailer (Credit: Lionsgate Movies)

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