Wick is Pain, a documentary on the John Wick franchise, features new interviews with Keanu Reeves and director Chad Stahelski, premiering digitally on May 9. Directed by Jeffrey Doe, the film includes unseen footage from over a decade and explores the struggles of the original 2014 film, which faced financial issues before being saved by actress Eva Longoria’s investment. Stahelski reflects on the anxiety of wanting to impress Reeves. Despite its rocky start, the franchise became a billion-dollar success, with future projects including the spinoff Ballerina, John Wick 5, and an anime prequel.
“When we refer to John Wick as pain, it feels like a ‘heck yeah.’” So states Keanu Reeves in *Wick is Pain*, an upcoming documentary about the John Wick franchise set to stream on digital starting May 9.
IGN is excited to exclusively unveil the trailer for this documentary, featuring fresh interviews with Reeves, director Chad Stahelski, and additional cast and crew members from the four films. (You can view the trailer via the player above or the embedded link below.)
Helmed by Jeffrey Doe, *Wick is Pain* showcases unseen footage captured over ten years both behind the scenes and during filming of the Wick movies. The documentary also traces the challenges faced by the original *John Wick* film from 2014, a small indie project that encountered significant financial setbacks and was temporarily halted.
“We were in a panic. This is Keanu freakin’ Reeves. You really don’t want to disappoint him,” Stahelski recollects in the trailer about the precarious situation of the first film.
“I don’t know where you find six and a half million dollars by Monday,” producer David Leitch remarked. Fellow producer Basil Iwanyk was even more forthright: “I withdrew money from my home. We were doomed. We are totally screwed.”
(The savior of John Wick turned out to be actress Eva Longoria, who contributed the $6 million needed to resume filming.)
Despite all of that chaos and hardship, John Wick ultimately led to the rise of a billion-dollar franchise.
IGN has been following the series right from the start. We visited the original film’s set in New York City, where we spoke with Keanu Reeves and co-star Adrianne Palicki, and we even debuted the first trailer for the movie back in 2014.
In addition to *Wick is Pain*, fans can also look forward to the upcoming spinoff Ballerina, along with the recently announced John Wick 5 and an anime prequel film.