It feels like just yesterday when we were all watching Keanu Reeves take his first outing as legendary retired hitman John Wick, but it was actually more than a decade ago. Today “John Wick” is a household name with multiple sequels, a spin-off TV series, and even a couple of tie-in video games.
In 2014 fans began to learn about gold coins, the Continental hotels, and the secret underground assassin network that spreads around the globe. Small details in the “John Wick” movies have helped create one of the most unique film universes there is. Of course, small details add up, and what were once enticing mysteries like John’s stockpile of gold coins are now fan wiki entries that are thousands of words long. You’ve probably forgotten some major things that happened in “John Wick” because of just how long our titular character has been on the run.
When we decided that it was time for a “John Wick” rewatch, we noticed that after 10 years of growth and evolution, the movies have completely changed.
We know what John’s retirement was like
One of the best things about the first “John Wick” movie is that it wastes no time getting into the action. The movie doesn’t stop to explain John Wick’s entire backstory. Instead we learn just enough about John’s life to understand his motivation for returning to the assassin game, and then it’s straight into the plot and all the chaotic shootouts. John lives with his wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan) in his retirement, but the movie doesn’t really give us a sense of what his life with her was like.
Years later, much of John’s life with Helen remains a mystery, but thanks to some behind-the-scenes details, we have a better idea of how John liked to spend his free time during his retirement. Originally the plan was to include scenes of John binding books, a relaxing, time-intensive hobby for a retired man who’s used to working with his hands.
Artist Ross MacDonald taught Keanu Reeves how to bind books by hand, but while we never got to see John working on a book in the movie, remnants of the idea still made it into the final film. Early in the movie, John smashes the floor in his basement workshop to unearth his guns and gold coins, and behind him you can see an elaborate bookcase. The reason such an expensive book collection is in the workshop is because John was restoring and binding those books himself.
John’s cutest dog scene is kind of gross now
For a relatively short movie, “John Wick” has a tremendous amount of violence. In under two hours, we see John kill 77 people in his grief-fueled revenge hunt. Most protagonists would struggle to win audiences over with that kind of kill count, but John has a secret weapon: his dog. The entire movie hinges on audiences siding with John because they, too, want to see his murdered puppy avenged. Director Chad Stahelski actually had to argue with the studio about John’s dog dying in the beginning of the movie, but he knew that the rest of the film wouldn’t work without that major tragedy.
It also wouldn’t work without an incredibly adorable pup by John’s side. John’s dog Daisy was played by a beagle named Andy, who was owned by a trainer for Animal Actors International. Andy perfectly sells his instant and touching connection with John, but their cutest moment together gets pretty gross once you learn about Andy’s secret acting trick. Andy had to be bribed into jumping up on Keanu Reeves and licking him all over the face like a puppy in love, so Reeves had to spread bacon grease on his face and beard as a bribe. Try not thinking about that icky detail the next time you rewatch “John Wick.”
There’s much more to the first film than we saw
The first “John Wick” movie is the shortest in the series, but the movie didn’t actually start out that way. The initial cut of the film was almost 40 minutes longer than the final version that made its way out to theaters. Part of the movie’s strength is how quickly it gets into the action and tears through John’s revenge-seeking journey, and after viewing the nearly three-hour “John Wick: Chapter 4,” the original movie’s brevity really stands out on a rewatch.
The later films get significantly longer, but they tend to stick to the “get to the action” ethos of the original. Most of the extra runtime is filled with gun fu action, making some of the “John Wick” sequels feel like action marathons. With 40 minutes worth of extra scenes, the original “John Wick” would be as long as its sequels, but all that extra time might not have added up to many more kills for John. The longer cut of the film featured an expanded intro and gave us more time getting to know John in his retirement. For “John Wick” loreheads, those lost scenes are tantalizing to imagine, but the movie’s probably better for being as short as it is.
John’s loss is more impactful now
The “John Wick” movies are focused on John dealing with the loss of his wife and returning to the world of underground assassins. The movies are undeniably thrilling, but the story that they tell is actually pretty tragic. John’s loss, especially in the original movie, was moving the first time around, but on a rewatch it takes on much more depth. By now, we’ve seen so much of the assassin underworld that we have a much better understanding of just how hard it was for John to escape it.
The first movie tells us that John left his old life behind by making a deal with Viggo (Michael Nyqvist) to kill his competition, and it leaves us with the idea that in one night John performed multiple impossible murders and earned his freedom. The sequels let us know that the story is actually much more complicated. In order to complete his impossible tasks, John had to swear a blood oath to crime boss Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio), and through John’s cameo in “Ballerina,” we learn that he spent more than a single night working on the plan to earn his freedom.
The later movies in the series also introduce us to people that John once considered to be his friends and family members. Sure, all of them are part of an arguably evil secret assassin ring, but now we know that John was willing to abandon everyone he’d ever met just to be free with Helen. That makes his return to the High Table even more tragic on a rewatch.
We know who’s really responsible for the wild action
Learning a bit about what happened behind the scenes on the different “John Wick” movies makes rewatching the series even more entertaining. The franchise is dotted with some truly wild stunts and over-the-top kills, and all those memorable moments are the product of a movie set where everyone is a real collaborator. The actors are free to suggest and push for their own ideas, and some of your favorite moments in the series are probably the product of one performer or another.
John’s slick pencil kill from “John Wick: Chapter 2” only exists because Keanu Reeves fought for the scene. Director Chad Stahelski had to convince everyone that the horse action scene from the beginning of “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum” was a good idea. Donnie Yen suggested a bit of choreography in “Chapter 4” where Caine threatens John with a gun to the head in their first fight before attacking him with his cane, and it’s one of the most memorable parts of the battle.
That level of collaboration is something that Stahelski tries to cultivate while working on the films. “I don’t even know if I’d call it a collaboration,” Stahelski said in a behind-the-scenes featurette. “Yes, we collaborate, but like, I just think you have two people that are working together that love the same stuff.” Stahelski said making movies is about coming up with crazy ideas and finding people to carry those ideas out, and on the “John Wick” sets, the two roles can be played by anyone.
Cats were the real threat in John Wick: Chapter 3
“John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum” sees John venturing around the globe after the High Table places a $14 million bounty on his head. Everywhere John goes, assassins come out of the shadows to try and kill him, but as rough as John has it in the movie, the cast and crew were arguably dealing with an even worse situation. The film was shot on location in Morocco, but when everyone arrived to start production, they discovered an unexpected problem: cats.
“There had to be thousands,” director Chad Stahelski told Entertainment Weekly. He explained that when the filmmakers had scouted the location, they noticed enough stray cats to plan for a cat wrangling department, but the stray population exploded between the scout and the shoot. “We had to build massive walls of cages. They’re just stray cats, but we want to be good handlers. So, we built little cat houses, put them in, had to feed them.” According to Stahelski, more cats than humans were eating on set each day.
In the same conversation, “Parabellum” star Halle Berry shared her experience working alongside legions of cats. The production simply didn’t have enough cat handlers to manage all the cats in the area, which meant scenes had to be filmed around them. “It was often hard to keep the dogs focused, because they’d see a cat and off they’d go, and sometimes that could ruin a whole great take.” If you catch a dog looking off in the wrong direction the next time you rewatch “Parabellum,” just know it’s staring at an escaped cat.
Everyone’s stunt work is more impressive
Rewatching the “John Wick” movies helps you truly appreciate just how much effort everyone puts into the stunt work. The action sequences in each movie are meticulously thought-out and well-choreographed, and those careful plans shape the shots we love so much. But the shots themselves wouldn’t be possible without the unbelievably committed performers in the film.
It’s no secret that Keanu Reeves knows a little bit of kung fu. When it comes to the martial arts sequences in the film, Reeves does 90% of his own stunts. He knows how to fight, run, and gun just like John Wick, and he even has enough driving skills to do a majority of his car stunts too. But Reeves isn’t the only actor committed to the action in the series. Halle Berry might be one of the most impressive stunt workers in the franchise. She broke three ribs while training for “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum” but pushed through because she wanted to fight just as well as Reeves. Berry also trained with the dogs in the film, so they’d actually respond to her commands the same way they would to their professional trainers.
Of course, not all the stunts can be handled by the stars of the film. The professional stunt doubles in the “John Wick” movies are no less impressive than the actors. When you’ve seen behind-the-scenes clips of them falling off buildings and repeatedly rolling down staircases to get dramatic shots just right, you have a greater appreciation for everything you see throughout the movies.
Seeing Lance Reddick as Charon is emotional
Lance Reddick’s character Charon is a piece of the “John Wick” franchise that feels completely different on a rewatch. From the very beginning, Charon was an intriguing and mysterious character. He’s a regular fixture at the New York City Continental, and he seems to have a strong rapport with all of the assassins who stay there. After seeing Charon fight alongside Winston and John in “Parabellum,” his calm and cheery demeanor in the first movie actually comes across as a little imposing. Charon is happy to help all of the hotel’s guests, but now we know he’s also more than capable of handling any of the hotel’s enemies.
Charon may be a more threatening figure in “John Wick” once you know more about him, but his scenes are also a little tragic now. Charon the character died in “John Wick: Chapter 4,” but Reddick died at age 60 in March 2023. The fourth movie in the series is dedicated in Reddick’s memory, and it’s hard not to think of that sad fact when Charon first shows up on screen. In “The Continental,” Ayomide Adegun played a younger version of Charon, but knowing that he might return for a prequel does little to make seeing Charon in the movies less sad now.
The coins have more weight
The first “John Wick” ushered audiences into a strangely heightened reality where assassins gather at secret hotels throughout the world and exchange services and favors through the trading of unexplained gold coins. For better or worse, the later “John Wick” movies, not to mention the various spin-offs, have explained much of the lore that was hinted at in the first film. We’ve met all sorts of characters from the assassin network, and we’ve learned about them using antiquated technology to send out bounties over phone lines and radio waves.
The “John Wick” universe has definitely gotten deeper since the first movie debuted, but some of the mysterious allure of John’s early adventures has vanished now. The gold coins might be the best example of how the expanded “John Wick” lore has changed things. In the spin-off series “The Continental,” we learn that these coins come from a special press originally owned by the High Table of assassins. The show tells a thrilling story that’s centers on a successful attempt to steal the coin press from the High Table.
“The Continental” tells us more about the world of “John Wick” and a couple of specific characters from the movies, while managing to be an entertaining story in and of itself. There’s nothing wrong with that, but one of the strongest elements of the original “John Wick” is how it constructs a whole world through small, subtle hints. That artistry is a bit harder to enjoy now that there are wikis full of “John Wick” lore.
We know Winston’s story now
“The Continental” TV series is arguably a low point for the “John Wick” franchise. The three-episode miniseries went through a lengthy and troubled development process, and it rubbed some fans the wrong way by casting Mel Gibson in a prominent role. In our review of “The Continental,” we said that one of the show’s saving graces was its portrayal of a young Winston (Colin Woodell).
As the manager of the New York Continental in the “John Wick” movies, Winston has always been a powerful figure. He has ties to the High Table, but we repeatedly see him going out of his way, and against his orders, to offer John help. Thanks to “The Continental,” we have a better sense of why that is. The show doesn’t explore how Winston came to know John, but it does show us his rise to power and how he became associated with the New York Continental in the first place.
Instead of answering every question we ever had about Winston as a character, “The Continental” actually builds a compelling enough backstory to leave us with completely new questions. The series has its faults, but now it’s hard not to think about the show’s plot when seeing Winston in the movies. Hopefully if “The Continental” ever returns to finish Winston’s story, the second season fares a bit better than the first.
John Wick is in all the action movies now
One thing that becomes painfully clear when you rewatch the series is just how completely “John Wick” changed action movies as a whole. The first movie came out of nowhere to wow audiences, and obviously since then “John Wick” has grown from a one-off popcorn flick to a full-fledged cinematic universe. That alone is strange to think about as you rewatch the films, but there are so many other little ways that the first movie’s influence has spread throughout Hollywood.
The “John Wick” franchise has a signature visual style all its own, but the focus on well-choreographed action and longer takes is something that other action movies started mimicking. Today movies like “The Gray Man” might rely more on CGI and drone shots than “John Wick,” but they still tend to favor long, cohesive takes rather than the quick cuts of an early 2000s action film like “The Bourne Identity.”
“John Wick” also helped inspire a ton of action plots that center on revenge and incorporate some world-building elements that you’d usually find in genre fiction. Movies like “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” and “Hotel Artemis” are clear examples, but even the brutally violent revenge narrative of a video game like 2020’s “The Last of Us: Part II” shows some Wick-ian influence. Today “John Wick” is bigger than just one movie, or even one cinematic universe, and on a rewatch, you can really appreciate how the series has grown into the giant it is.