John Wick is undeniably one of the most successful franchises by director Chad Stahelski, and a major milestone for Keanu Reeves as well who is so loved in the role that fans can’t imagine anyone else as the titular character besides him. However, even before the first movie’s launch, someone had brutally negative thoughts and predictions on how it would turn out to be.

Surprisingly enough, this someone was none other than the mastermind Stahelski himself, who even predicted that the film would be such a massive failure that it would go “straight to video.” But what’s even more stunning than the filmmaker’s own predictions on his blockbuster saga was the fact that Reeves was never supposed to lead the franchise the way he ended up doing!

Chad Stahelski’s Initial Predictions for John Wick Were Brutally Pessimistic

Yes, Stahelski absolutely nailed it ten years ago when he brought about the first John Wick movie, and yes, the fan-favorite Keanu Reeves was elevated to total stardom through his spectacular embodiment of the titular character as well.

However, when it goes back to the start, the director never really had high hopes for the film.

Chad Stahelski. | Credit: Anna Hanks/Wikimedia Commons.

If anything, the mastermind helmer of the action-thriller saga, Chad Stahelski was, in fact, dreading that the 2014 movie could actually end up going “straight to video” instead of even serving its proper time in the theatres like other smash hits of the time.

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During his latest interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Stahelski shared the same while expressing his reasoning behind such pessimistic predictions for his franchise. He said:

You have to remember that in 2014, nobody knew John Wick. Keanu was doing smaller films. We, Honest to God, believed no one was going to see the movie. We thought we were going straight to video.

But, much to his and everyone else’s surprise, things turned out to be a lot more positive than what was expected of them, as can be deciphered especially from the original masterpiece’s 86% critical approval rating on the Tomatometer coupled with its 81% audience score.

Keanu Reeves as the titular character in the 2014 movie.

Moreover, this was evident, not only from the $20 million movie grossing $86 million worldwide after airing in 2,589 theaters (four-fold profit for a newbie?!), according to numbers from Box Office Mojo, but also from the three sequels that it went on to spawn over the course of a decade.

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Considering these facts, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to claim that the 2014 movie was a total blockbuster that ultimately paved the way for multiple more sequels and spin-offs to spawn. And in making it such a success, one of the biggest contributions was from Reeves.

However, surprisingly enough, The Matrix actor was never really supposed to lead the sensational saga!

Keanu Reeves was Never Supposed to Lead the John Wick Saga

Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry.

Although Keanu Reeves indeed aced it immaculately as the perfect John Wick the fandom could ever ask for, the truth is that the iconic franchise was never really created for someone like him. Instead, it was developed for a 75-year-old hero like Clint Eastwood or Harrison Ford.

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According to the details producer Basil Iwanyk shared 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 (via EW):

One of my best friends is Charlie Ferraro at UTA, who sent me this script from Derek Kolstad called ‘Scorn.’ The lead was a 75-year-old man, 25 years after being retired.

Harrison Ford in the Jack Ryan film series.

Thus, naturally, the original names to come to mind for it were nothing short of Eastwood or Harrison Ford. As Iwanyk continued to say:

It was the fun of watching Clint Eastwood kick ass. I thought, ‘Okay, there’s probably one or two names you could do this with Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford.’

However, instead of these two legendary actors, the story went on to Reeves because, 1) He was looking for an action movie, and 2) Reeves loved the script as soon as he sunk his talons in it, so he eventually ended up hijacking it from Eastwood and Ford.

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Needless to say, that was obviously only for the best, considering how the 59-year-old Reeves left such an indelible mark through his beyond-breathtaking performance as the titular hero that fans can’t imagine anyone else in the role anymore.