Bruce Willis Was Originally Attached To JOHN WICK Before Keanu Reeves
Here’s a wild bit of John Wick movie trivia that was recently revealed by the action film’s co-director David Leitch. Another big action star was attached to take on the title role before Keanu Reeves came on board.
During an interview with THR, for the film’s 10th anniversary, Leitch revealed that when he was first approached to do second unit work on the film, Bruce Willis "might've been attached at the time."
This makes sense because when the original version of the film was developed by producers Basil Iwanyk and Peter Lawson, they were considering a fifty-something actor like Willis instead of someone like Reeves.
While Reeves was the smartest choice for the role of Wick, I can imagine Willis in the movie, and I bet he would’ve been awesome in it. It’s interesting to think about what that version of the film might have been like.
Had that happened, though, had the studio followed through with their original plans, directors Chad Stahelski and Leitch likely would've never gotten the opportunity to make the film.
In the end, everything worked out great for the franchise. Reeves was perfect for the role, and it ended up being exactly what it was supposed to be and the franchise continues to have one hell of an awesome run!
It’s kind of funny, not long after John Wick was released, Briuce Willis starred in a movie titled Once Upon a Time in Venice, and in that movie, Willis plays a Private Investigator whose dog is kidnapped by a notorious gang, and he has to fight to get his dog back.
That movie did not end up being very good, though.