The John Wick franchise nearly went by another name, but thankfully, Keanu Reeves prevented the original title from being used in 2014.
Without Keanu Reeves, the John Wick franchise would have used a different title, potentially hurting the franchise’s $1 billion potential. Though John Wick wasn’t released until 2014, writer Derek Kolstad had been developing the movie for over a decade. In the early days, the John Wick lead was envisioned to be older, someone like a Clint Eastwood-type, who retired due to age, not one who had left that world hoping to have a normal life with his wife. After Reeves became linked to the project, the script got to Chad Stahelski, who had worked with Reeves as a stunt coordinator in The Matrix movies, and he signed on to direct.
Stahelski and Reeves ended up being a match made in heaven for lovers of action blockbusters. After the puppy given to him by his dead wife was killed, the former assassin went back to his old ways of becoming an absolute force to be reckoned with. After the release of John Wick: Chapter 4 in 2023, the John Wick franchise officially crossed the $1 billion mark at the box office, with Reeves’ portrayal as the titular character being a vital proponent of the series’ continued success. That may not have been the case if the first movie didn’t change a crucial aspect.
Keanu Reeves Prevented The First John Wick Movie From Being Titled Scorn
Before John Wick was named after the titular assassin, the movie written by Derek Kolstad was titled Scorn. The general idea was still about a man coming out of retirement fueled by vengeance. After Keanu Reeves was cast as John Wick in the movie, he worked heavily alongside Kolstad to develop the character further. The name John Wick must have stuck with Reeves more than Scorn because the actor kept referring to the movie as John Wick to the point that the official title was changed.
According to Kolstad (via ComicBook.com), Reeves kept referring to the movie as John Wick in interviews ahead of its 2014 release. Producers and the marketing team realized it was giving the movie “four to five million dollars in free advertising,” allowing everyone to agree that a title change made sense. It may have been a blunder from Reeves, ignoring the established title, but even Kolstad admitted that he couldn’t “imagine it being Scorn now.” Looking at how massive the John Wick movies have become, Kolstad is absolutely correct.
Why The John Wick Franchise Benefited From A Title Change
In the near decade of existence, John Wick has become a key aspect of movie pop culture, with the name being recognizable to those who aren’t inclined to pay attention to violent action movies. Though Reeves has several notable franchise roles during his career, his portrayal of John Wick has risen toward the top in terms of popularity. The probably wouldn’t have been the case with a movie titled Scorn, which sounds like a forgettable cookie-cutter action movie from the ’80s or ’90s. Any sequels would have just exacerbated that underselling notion of the main character.
It’s no question that John Wick and, in turn, Keanu Reeves, is the selling point of the franchise. The return of the infamous “Baba Yaga” sets off the events depicted across four movies taking him all over the world to kill those who wronged him or got in his way. Even though John was killed off in the 2023 movie, there’s hope Keanu Reeves can return in John Wick 5, reiterating the fact that he’s the heart of the franchise. This is also why he’s appearing in some capacity for the first movie spinoff, Ballerina. While The Continental TV spinoff showed promise, it was evident that any John Wick franchise project without Wick would be at a disadvantage.
