John Wick Producer Describes the "Mayhem" Behind Franchise's Toughest Action Sequence

The John Wick franchise has been about as influential to the action movie landscape in the last decade as Zack Snyder’s 300. The films have only gotten more elaborate with each new installment, building dense lore alongside increasingly inventive set-pieces. In an interview with ScreenRant to celebrate the franchise's 10-year anniversary, producer Erica Lee weighed in on the franchise’s toughest action sequences to shoot, and described one in particular as being “mayhem.” David Leitch, who co-directed the first John Wick with Chad Stahelski, credited his cohort for taking the series to the next level, and recalled the logistical challenges behind filming a car chase in the first film.

Lee said that each sequence comes with its own challenges, but the memorable Morocco-set set-piece in John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, which involved stars Keanu Reeves and Halle Berry alongside two dogs, was particularly difficult to shoot. And not for the reasons that one might expect. What took the crew by surprise was the sheer number of cats present on location, because it happened to be next to a fishing village. The cats were there because of the fish, but they ended up distracting the stunt dogs. Lee said that the crew had to create enclosures for the cats next to the set, so that the dogs could focus. In her own words:

“There were cats everywhere and dead fish everywhere, and the dogs were getting very distracted. So we had to build this cat hotel on the side of the set, and we were constantly wrangling the cats. And I just remember our call time that day was like 2:30 in the morning. Halle was a true champion. We had pushed the shoot because she had broken her ribs. It was just sort of mayhem in general. I say that was one of the more challenging kind of sections. But I mean, there's honestly so many.”

Chad Stahelski Was Truly Cooking Up Some Wild Stuff in Morocco

Lee also highlighted the logistical difficulties of filming with horses in New York, and the challenges of filming the Arc de Triomphe sequence at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4. Leitch, on the other hand, highlighted the now-iconic staircase sequence in the fourth film as a “work of art.” He said, “It is just one of the most impressive feats of physical stunt performance that I've seen.” Sharing his own memories of punching above their weight class on the first film, he recalled how his and Stahelski’s background in stunt-work helped them maximize their vision. He said:

“We had a piece of car action in there where we were a little bit of car action at the docks and we created some cool camera mounts for Keanu to actually be driving. And then we had the moment of dumping the SUVs off into the dry dock and all of that stuff was things that they said you can't afford, you're not going to be able to afford it. We had to really count our pennies and sacrifice a day or two of budget to get those things in the movie, knowing what an action fans would want. We had to fight for that stuff. And normally that size movie, you wouldn't have been able to do it. And if we didn't have the experience of being stunt coordinators our own self, we probably wouldn't have got it.”

The first John Wick, stylish as it was, was a relatively modest revenge thriller. But since then, the franchise has evolved into an epic saga of sorts; visually rich, immaculately staged, and massively successful at the box office. The four John Wick movies have all been critically acclaimed, and have grossed a combined total of over $1 billion worldwide. A fifth installment in the main series is being contemplated, but before that, Lionsgate will debut a spin-off titled Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas in the lead role alongside Reeves in an extended cameo. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

An ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters who killed his dog and stole his car.