The John Wick Detail That Changed Once Keanu Reeves Got Involved
At any given moment, numerous action franchises are running around Hollywood, desperately trying to stand out from the pack. The vast majority fall into obscurity or, if they're lucky, get a few moments in the spotlight for themselves. However, a fortunate few reach mainstream levels of appreciation and popularity, such as the "John Wick" saga. The film series kicked off in the waning days of 2014 and caught on with moviegoers for a multitude of reasons. Of course, one could easily argue that the biggest comes down to the performance of its lead, Keanu Reeves.
For three — soon to be four — installments, Reeves has brought Wick to life at the movies and has kept audiences coming back for more. Distraught over the death of his wife, the former assassin attempts to live a life of peace. Thanks to the arrogant son of a crime boss who kills Wick's dog, he comes out of retirement to wreak havoc on the criminal underworld. Before he knows it, he's caught in the crosshairs of assassins, criminals, bounty hunters, and more from across the globe, leaving him no choice but to fight for his life against some truly dangerous foes.
No matter the stage in John Wick's story or the nature of the scene, Keanu Reeves has consistently brought his A-game and made the character a cinematic icon. Although, had the original plan for the "John Wick" movie unfolded, he wouldn't have had the chance to do so.
The original concept for John Wick followed a much older version of the character
In the book "They Shouldn't Have Killed His Dog: The Complete Uncensored Oral History of John Wick, Gun Fu, and the New Age of Action" by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, "John Wick" producer Basil Iwanyk dropped a fascinating piece of information about the original concept behind the titular character (via Entertainment Weekly). "The lead was a seventy-five-year-old man, twenty-five years after being retired," Iwanyk said, evoking images of Clint Eastwood or Harrison Ford pulling off John Wick action sequences. As we now know, this idea never made it to the silver screen.
Screenwriter Derek Kolstad revealed that Reeves came to love his script — then titled "Scorn" — upon reading it, so some changes were made. "The first thing that Keanu said to me was, 'Okay, Derek, I'm going to play him 35,' And I'm like, 'Fine,'" Kolstad said, and the rest is history. Thus, we never got to see a 70-plus-year-old version of John Wick, but that's not to say that it can't happen down the road. When asked by OK! Magazine how long he'll don the black suit, Reeves said "As far as my legs can take me. As far as the audience wants to go." Therefore, maybe a senior John Wick isn't out of the question a few decades from now.
No matter how you slice it, Keanu Reeves knocked his portrayal of John Wick out of the park. While it's too bad we didn't get to see the original, aged-up take on the character, it's hard to complain about what we got.