Over the last ten years, the John Wick franchise has spawned sequels, spinoffs, TV shows, and video games, so it’s hard to imagine that the first movie almost didn’t happen. While speaking to Business Insider, John Wick directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch revealed that the project had lost almost $6 million less than a week before production was set to begin. Thankfully, John Wick found an unlikely saviour in none other than Eva Longoria.
“We were less than a week out and we lost almost $6 million on a gap financing,” Stahelski said. “We were financing independently to get the bond, but one of the investors couldn’t raise the money in time.” Stahelski, Leitch, and Keanu Reeves had each put their own money into John Wick, with producer Basil Iwanyk maxing out multiple personal credit cards, but they still came up short. CAA was helping put the financing together and, in a last-ditch effort, offered some of their clients the opportunity to invest in John Wick.
“[Eva] came to the rescue and she provided the gap financing, literally less than 24 hours before we had to lock the doors on the movie and walk away,” Stahelski said. “Basil took us out to dinner [after filming], and we were laughing about all the bullshit that happened, and he said, ‘By the way, funny story, you know who gap financed you? Eva Longoria.’ We were were like, ‘What!’” The John Wick director took Longoria out to lunch to thank her, and she later told the pair that investing in the movie was “the best money” she’d ever spent. Fans of hard-hitting action and skull-splitting gunshots owe Eva Longoria a sincere thank you.
The next John Wick project to hit our screens will be Ballerina, a spinoff which stars Ana de Armas as a young woman with killer skills who sets out to get revenge when hitmen kill her family. As the film takes place in the John Wick universe, it will feature appearances from several franchise characters, including Ian McShane as Winston, the owner of the Continental Hotel, the late Lance Reddick as Charon, the Continental’s concierge, and Anjelica Huston as the Director, the head of the Ruska Roma. Keanu Reeves will also make an appearance as John Wick. The film will also include Catalina Sandino Moreno, Gabriel Bryne, and Norman Reedus in undisclosed roles. The film is set to hit theaters on June 6, 2025.