How Eva Longoria Rescued ‘John Wick’ From Oblivion

The John Wick movies starring Keanu Reeves have become one of Hollywood’s most successful action franchises. The films have grossed over a billion dollars since their first installment in 2014 and recently returned to the spotlight with the June premiere of the spinoff From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, which features Reeves in a few scenes.

However, the franchise’s success was nearly derailed before the first film began production. Amazingly, no one might have heard the name “John Wick” if actress Eva Longoria hadn’t swooped in at the last moment like an action-movie hero and rescued the first Wick film with a $6-million investment.

In an interview with Business Insider, co-director Chad Stahelski recalls how in 2013, filming on the original John Wick, which featured Reeves as a hitman who came out of retirement to seek revenge against the men who killed his dog, was almost canceled:

We were less than a week out, and we lost almost $6 million on a gap financing. We were financing independently to get the bond, but one of the investors couldn’t raise the money in time…. [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.

Longoria had been offered the chance to invest through her agency CAA. She decided to take a gamble that paid off handsomely. She calls it “the best money I ever spent,” claims she has received at least double her investment in return, and says she only regrets not investing in the sequels:

What I’m pissed off about is I wasn’t connected to the rest of them. This was a one-time thing. That was the gamble. But that was my only mistake, not being attached to all of the films.

Eva Longoria is currently starring alongside Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson in the heist comedy The Pickup, available on Amazon Prime.