Some Of John Wick 4's Funniest Moments Were Improvised...by A Dog?

Some things just go together. Peanut butter and jelly. Zach Snyder and director's cuts. And of course, "John Wick" and dogs. From the outset of the franchise in 2014, "John Wick" asserted itself as a pro-dog enterprise, even if the films weren't necessarily a safe haven for canines. In the first film, some thugs make the mistake of killing Wick's beloved puppy, Daisy — a gift given posthumously by his late wife. For their sins, Wick takes out an entire Russian crime syndicate.

Several films and hundreds (thousands?) of dead bodies later, no loss stings quite as hard as Daisy. As such, dogs play a prominent role throughout the franchise, with a pitbull joining the fray at the end of the first movie and Sofia Al-Azwar's (Halle Berry) shepherds getting in on the action in "Chapter 3." But dogs aren't just a vessel for potential heartbreak or furry bodyguards. In the case of "John Wick: Chapter 4," they're also the source of some of the funniest material.

The fourth installment introduces a new killer, Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson), who goes nowhere without his trusty Belgian Malinois. No matter how well-trained an on-screen dog is, they still bring some of their own, shall we say, flourishes to set. "Our lead dog — her name's Britta — for whatever reason, she was a crotch biter," director Chad Stahelski told The Ringer. "We had all these other gags planned, and she's like, 'Nope. Right for the crotch.' We're like, 'OK, I guess that's our character; we're doing crotch biting.'"

As Mr. Nobody's prized pooch, the dog in "John Wick: Chapter 4" sic'd Myrmidons in Osaka, leaped across the roofs of cars circling the Arc de Triomphe, and, yes, went for her enemies' most sensitive areas. Just as the franchise is a love letter to the stunt industry, the stunt dogs brought as much tenacity and physicality to the set as their human stunt performer counterparts. In total, Mr. Nobody's dog was a composite of three females and two male dogs, with Britta being the primary pup.

The training period was ruff (sorry), and in order to acclimate the dogs with the stunt team, plenty of playtime was in order. "In order for the dog to be very playful, and safe, and have the confidence just like a human would, they have to spend time with each individual stunt guy," Stahelski told Collider. "That was his job. He had to go play with the dogs, and get tackled by the dogs, and play Frisbee with the dog.

When it came to Britta's unique comic sensibility, even Keanu Reeves learned a thing or two from the dog. In "Chapter 4," Wick uses nunchucks to great effect, especially in one improvised instance. "Keanu fakes a move to the head, then hits the guy in the groin," Stahelski recalled in the same piece for The Ringer. "I'm like, 'OK, I guess we're groin hitters today with the nunchucks.' It's always interesting."