David Leitch has just now dished out that Keanu Reeves was not the first choice for the action-thriller movie.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Leitch candidly shared the name of an actor who was the first choice for John Wick’s character.
The American filmmaker recalled the time when they received the script of the movie from a manager, Kelly McCormick with whom he has been married since 2014, and began by saying, “She had introduced us to Basil Iwanyk and Peter Lawson at Basil’s company [Thunder Road] to maybe do second unit work on that script.”
Meanwhile, he revealed the name of the actor who was firstly given preference for the hitman role in the crime movie, and told the outlet, “So that was the first time we read it, and I think Bruce Willis might’ve been attached at that time.”
However, Leitch shared that at the time Willis was unable to join the John Wick project so they reached out to Keanu Reeves, to cast him for the lead role in the movie.
Moreover, “We went back to Keanu and said, ‘Hey, man, it’s a little small for us, but what do you think about us doing the whole thing?’,” the director added.
Before concluding, he shared, “And he was like, “Yes, please. Let’s do it. How do we make that happen?”
John Wick franchise’s fifth movie, Ballerina, is scheduled to be released in cinemas on June 6, 2025.
