Keanu Reeves' 'John Wick' original script had less deaths, says director Chad Stahelski

John Wick is one of the most iconic action flicks in Hollywood. It stars Keanu Reeves in the lead role. Released in 2014, the movie was noted for its gruesome fight sequences, having 77 body count. Now director Chad Stahelski revealed that the original script of the movie had a drastically less kill count.

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John Wick's original script had only three deaths

In a recent interview with Comicbook.com, John Wick director Chad Stahelski revealed that the initial script of the movie had only a handful of deaths, prior to his involvement. He said the action sequences were eventually evolved after he boarded the project. Recalling the incident, he said that Keanu Reeves sent him the script on a Friday and he read it on the same day and thought about it over the weekend.

The filmmaker said that the original John Wick script was “much more contained” than the changed one. He said he thinks that only three people died in that script, from which two were in a car crash. Stahelski mentioned that it was “very, very minimal,” and was slightly different. He said he wanted to make a 'surreal action movie' which was 'not so grounded and gray but was something different'. 

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John Wick eventually ended up having around 80 kills by Keanu Reeves as a former hitman who goes on revenge for the death of his dog, Daisy. The body count number increased to around 128 in John Wick: Chapter 2. It later fell down to around 94 kills in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

Chad Stahelski disclosed that he and his team have never intentionally discussed the kill count for the films. The director said he thinks that as Keanu Reeves has gotten so much better with the choreography and the martial arts and the motion, they needed to change weapons and get bigger set pieces. This, he said, gradually led to an increase in body count.

John Wick movie series is created by Derek Kolstad and directed by Chad Stahelski, with Keanu Reeves as the main lead. The three films have gained immense praise for their action sequences and have been successful at the box-office. The makers have announced John Wick 4 and 5, with Keanu set to shoot them back-to-back.

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