<P> The film was written by Derek Kolstad, who completed the screenplay in 2012 and further developed it for Thunder Road Pictures . The film was produced by Basil Iwanyk of Thunder Road Pictures, Leitch, Eva Longoria, and Michael Witherill . It marks Stahelski and Leitch's directorial debut as a team after multiple separate credits as second unit directors and stunt coordinators . They previously worked with Reeves as stunt doubles on The Matrix trilogy . </P> <P> Stahelski and Leitch's approach to action scenes drew upon their admiration for anime and martial arts films, and the film's use of fight choreographers and gun fu techniques from Hong Kong action cinema was additionally influential in the development of the film . The film also pays homage to works such as John Woo's The Killer, Jean - Pierre Melville's Le Cercle Rouge and Le Samouraï, John Boorman's Point Blank, and the spaghetti western subgenre of Western films . The film was met with positive reviews, with critics calling it one of Reeves' best performances, as well as one of the best action films of 2014, and grossed $89 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 million . A sequel, John Wick: Chapter 2, was released in February 2017, and a third film is currently in development with a targeted release in May 2019 . </P> <P> After John Wick loses his beloved wife Helen to a terminal illness, he receives a beagle puppy named Daisy, per Helen's instructions, to help him cope with her death . He connects with the puppy and they spend their day driving around in his vintage 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 . At a gas station, he encounters a trio of Russian gangsters whose leader, Iosef Tarasov, insists on buying his car, but John refuses to sell it . The mobsters follow John to his home that night, knock him unconscious, steal his car, and kill Daisy . </P> <P> Iosef takes the Mustang to a chop shop run by Aurelio to have the VIN changed . Aurelio recognizes the car and, upon learning that Iosef stole it from John, punches him before throwing him out of his shop . John visits Aurelio, who tells him Iosef is the son of Viggo Tarasov, the head of the Russian crime syndicate in New York City . Viggo, informed by Aurelio of Iosef's actions, beats and berates Iosef, explaining to him that John Wick was his best assassin, nicknamed "Baba Yaga ." When John wanted to retire and marry Helen, Viggo gave him an "impossible task", implied to involve multiple assassinations . John succeeded, establishing the Tarasov syndicate . </P>

How did john wick's wife die in the movie