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If the studio had its way, John Wick's dog wouldn't have died in the first movie
You know the whole reason why John Wick goes on a murderous rampage in the original film? Almost didn't happen.
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The John Wick franchise has succeeded in part because of its one basic premise: Those knuckleheads killed his puppy in the opening minutes of the movie. It justifies the increasingly creative bloodshed that ensues in our minds - not least because it wasn't just any dog, but the beagle puppy that John's late wife gifted to him, who happens to be cute enough that just about anyone would go to war for her.
And yet, things could have turned out very differently for the John Wick films if director Chad Stahelski had heeded Lionsgate's original feedback from the first film. The Hollywood Reporter noted that the documentary about the John Wick franchise, Wick is Pain, reveals that Lionsgate "didn't want [Stahelski] to kill the dog or for Wick to execute the villain played by Alfie Allen, and they wanted the bad guys to have poisoned Wick’s wife instead of her dying of natural causes." So, you know, notes that would have undone a good portion of the movie's entire plot. Yeah, I'll give you a second to let that sink in.
While Chad Stahelski didn't elaborate on how he and producer David Leitch were able to proceed with the film's original plot, it's worth noting just how much of the first film's story would have fallen apart if Lionsgate had had their way. What makes John's wife, Helen, dying from cancer so poignant is that even a badass like him can't protect her from it. Cancer isn't something you can defeat by shooting at it with an arsenal of guns, or suplexing it, or stabbing it with a pencil. The John Wick films have really been a story about the expansiveness of human potential, and a core element of being human is our vulnerability to illnesses like cancer.
Sure, it was a bold move in 2014 to introduce an adorable puppy in the beginning of the film, have us fall in love with her, and then kill her off a few minutes later, but it's a choice that's paid off handsomely for Lionsgate. The John Wick franchise has grossed over a billion dollars worldwide. Even characters within the John Wick films react with shock when they find out that Wick has jumped back into the game after Russian mobsters killed the puppy his wife gave him to keep him company after she died from cancer. Like come on!
Anyways, Hollywood can often be a frustrating place, but at least with the John Wick films, Lionsgate gave Stahelski and Leitch the chance to make something extraordinary... after giving them some notes that thankfully didn't make it into the finished movie.
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