Summit Entertainment
It’s a universal truth that no one, absolutely no one, takes pleasure in witnessing a dog’s demise on screen. Dogs, in my admittedly biased view, are extraordinary beings that we humans are barely worthy of. So why would we subject ourselves to the distress of watching them suffer or die in films or TV shows? This sentiment was shared by the investors of the first “John Wick” film when co-directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski suggested the major dog death scene.
As you may be aware, the inaugural film of the “John Wick” series begins with the eponymous assassin, portrayed by Keanu Reeves, grieving his late wife Helen (Bridget Moynihan). Helen had arranged for him to receive a lovable beagle puppy named Daisy after her death. Daisy quickly bonds with John, even sleeping on his bed at night. However, when John refuses to sell his car to Iosef Tarasov, a spoilt crime heir played by “Game of Thrones” star Alfie Allen, Iosef and his thugs invade John’s home, murder Daisy, and steal his car.
Leitch, in conversation with Business Insider for the film’s 10th anniversary, revealed that they faced significant resistance to the puppy’s death scene. “We were warned, ‘It’s bad luck.’ ‘It’s bad juju.’ ‘It’s ‘Old Yeller,’ you can’t do this!'” Stahelski remembered. “‘No one will want to see this on screen; you’re going to alienate the audience.’ And I responded, ‘We’re going to execute people at close range; killing the dog is one thing, but what about the brutal massacre of all these human beings? Will they be able to stomach that?’ They failed to grasp that we were crafting a genre film. We are die-hard genre fans, and we understand that these tough moments create unforgettable scenes.”
Chad Stahelski and David Leitch handled the puppy scene in John Wick with great care
Summit Entertainment
If you’ve watched the puppy scene in “John Wick,” you know it’s heart-wrenching. Personally, I believe the decision to let the audience hear the innocent Daisy whimper in pain as she is killed is a bit too much. However, you don’t really see much of it. Chad Stahelski explained that he and David Leitch understood the need for sensitivity, so they were extremely cautious about how the violence was portrayed.
“Dave and I were completely in agreement on how we were going to film the scene,” Stahelski said. “We decided to use a baby lens; John gets a hard hit on the head, so it’s going to have a dream-like quality; the dog’s death occurs off-camera, and all you see afterwards is a trail of blood, giving the impression that the puppy tried to crawl towards him.”
Surprisingly, many people on set thought the idea to kill the dog was so terrible that they kept suggesting an alternate ending even after Leitch and Stahelski had filmed the original. “So on the day, Keanu was acting with a stuffed dog. Crying. He’s all beaten up. He looks dreadful in his pajamas,” Stahelski continued. “Everyone behind the monitors must have thought, ‘Okay, this is the worst idea; these first-time directors are finished.’ For the next few weeks, it was suggested that we film an alternative ending revealing that the puppy isn’t actually dead.”
So, how was the issue finally resolved? The film’s lead actor and a major producer defended the decision. According to Stahelski, “Keanu stood up for us. And Basil [Iwanyk, a producer] stood up to the investors, and eventually, they just thought, ‘F*** it, let’s see what these guys can do.'”
Following the first film, the John Wick franchise ensured the safety of all its dogs (for the most part)
Lionsgate Films
If you’re a dog lover and have avoided the “John Wick” films solely because of the Daisy scene in the original 2014 film, I have some uplifting news. In the three sequels that followed — 2017’s “John Wick: Chapter 2,” 2019’s “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum,” and 2023’s “John Wick: Chapter 4” — dogs are essentially treated as sacred, and even when you suspect one might be injured, you’re delightfully mistaken.
At the conclusion of “John Wick,” a wounded John stumbles into a dog pound and leaves with a pit bull. Although the dog is never named on screen, John brings him to The Continental, an assassins-only hotel, at the beginning of “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum” to keep him safe while John flees from the crime lord council, the High Table. (The dog is warmly and graciously welcomed by Charon, the hotel’s omniscient concierge, played by the late, great Lance Reddick.) In the same film, John teams up with his old friend and another “retired” assassin, Sofia Al-Azwar (Halle Berry), who travels with two Belgian Malinois dogs. These dogs provide one of the franchise’s best action sequences as they take down enemy combatants. When Sofia’s former boss Berrada (Jerome Flynn) shoots a dog, it turns out it was wearing a vest; Sofia shoots him in the kneecap in retaliation. (When she justifies her decision to John, he simply replies, “I get it.”)
Finally, in “John Wick: Chapter 4,” John is pursued by an assassin named Mr. Nobody (Shamier Anderson) and his dog, another Belgian Malinois. However, when John saves the dog from certain death, Mr. Nobody leaves John alone. Dogs are a potent symbol in the “John Wick” franchise, even if Daisy had to be sacrificed in the first film. It’s been thrilling to watch a bunch of dogs save the day since that scene.
FAQs
Q: Why was the dog killed in John Wick?
A: The dog, Daisy, was killed as a plot device to trigger John Wick’s return to his life as an assassin.
Q: How was the puppy scene filmed in John Wick?
A: The scene was filmed carefully, with the actual death happening off-camera and the aftermath implying the puppy tried to crawl to John.
Q: Do any more dogs die in the John Wick series?
A: No, after the death of Daisy in the first film, dogs are treated as sacred in the subsequent films.
Credit: www.slashfilm.com
