Keanu Reeves was going to ride a horse in John Wick: Chapter 3 'no matter what,' says director

Believe it or not, there are actual human beings who objected to the idea of having Keanu Reeves fight bad guys while riding a horse in the next John Wick movie.

John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum director Chad Stahelski spoke with GQ about the action scene, which became an instant meme when set photos showing Reeves riding a horse through the streets of New York City leaked online in 2018. "I'm a big Sergio Leone fan, so no matter what, I was putting Keanu on a horse in this movie," Stahelski said.

Stahelski also explained that during production, he literally sat down and just listed every skill Reeves really has, including riding a horse. "If you've got an actor who can ride horses, ride motorcycles, do fight scenes, why not?" But Stahelski had to insist on keeping this in the movie, explaining, "Nobody wanted the horses. I had to fight for that one. People thought it was too weird."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

That's not to say Stahelski disagrees that it's pretty insane, as he previously told Collider the scene is the "craziest thing" either he or Reeves himself have ever done in their careers.

Reeves was evidently game, though, and he told GQ that he's ready to keep making John Wick movies "as far as my legs can take me." He didn't have a lot to say about the horse sequence only growing his status as a living meme, though he offered this comment on memes in general: "People doing dances, people doing mannequin stuff or whatever — those people, they look like they're having fun and doing some cool sh-t."