It’s the 10th anniversary of John Wick, and it’s interesting to look back and see how many careers the film and franchise has touched. It was, of course, co-directed by stuntmen Chad Stahelski and David Leitch (who left after the first film and founded his production company 87 North with his wife, Kelly McCormick), but other stunt professionals and fight coordinators have become directors (J.J. Perry and Darrin Prescott, for example). One of them, Jonathan Eusebio, is about to release his directorial feature debut with Love Hurts, from 87 North. Starring Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose, the film’s trailer quickly garnered more than 10 million views the week of its release. When MovieWeb spoke with Leitch about the John Wick anniversary, he was able to tease the film.
“Look, with Love Hurts, Ke Huy Quan is so lovable and relatable, and you just have to put a camera on him,” explains Leitch. “He’s empathetic, and he’s really funny, and he’s actually great at action, so it’s a really fun blend for a martial arts movie, a martial arts love story. It’s kind of a kung fu love story, yeah.” Leitch (director of Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde, The Fall Guy, and more), continues in depth about how Love Hurts fits into his production company’s style:
“We really worked closely on that with Jojo [director Jonathan Eusebio]. I think that’s part of the brand that 87 North, my company and Kelly’s company, we do inject humor. I think, from my journey after Wick, having been involved in Deadpool and Hobson & Shaw, I really got sort of steeped in the comedy world, and then, you know, in Fall Guy, there’s a ton of comedy. And working with Ryan Gosling, he’s a genius. And so, comedy is in our blood, and comedy is in our brand. When we look for projects, oftentimes the things we gravitate to have a comedic element, even Nobody. When you look at Bob Odenkirk, that’s one of our franchises that has a comedic element to it, even though it’s dark.”
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Directing Love Hurts 10 Years After John Wick
Eusebio recently spoke with ScreenRant about coming up in the industry with David Leitch and how he considers him a mentor. Leitch’s self-paved career model seemed like the golden path to him. He explained:
“I’ve worked with David before stunts, we came up together, and then I was on his action team for a long time. So, I started out as a stunt performer, then I became a fight coordinator, then a stunt coordinator, then worked my way up to second unit action director […] So, it just felt like a normal progression, a logistical progression, to direct. And after seeing my mentor, David, take the same path of stunt performer, then second unit director, and now a successful director, I just kind of followed his path into this.”
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However, David Leitch and Erica Lee have other thoughts about the future of the John Wick franchise with Keanu Reeves.
Of course, the success of John Wick can sometimes feel like a curse, replicating tons of movies about retired assassins, hitmen, or criminals. “I was getting a lot of scripts, a lot of kind of John Wick-type movies, you know, the hitman trying to get out and things like that,” said Eusebio. “But I also wanted a movie that had a little bit of heart, more heart and humor in it, and was a little bit quirky. So, when I read the script, I was like, ‘Oh, wow, I can have my cake and eat it too, so I can have a cool character, an unconventional hero. Then, I have side characters that you would like,’ and then it gave me the opportunity to infuse hardcore action with humor.”
Check out Love Hurts when it comes to theaters Feb. 7, 2025. The film that started it all, John Wick, returns to theaters for two nights only – November 3rd and 6th, 2024. Find theaters and tickets here.
Love Hurts (2025)
- Release Date
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February 7, 2025
- Director
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JoJo Eusebio
- Writers
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Matthew Murray
, Josh Stoddard
, Luke Passmore