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The “John Wick” series is one of the most beloved modern action franchises, with four films grossing over $1 billion at the worldwide box office.

With incredible action sequences, fascinating world-building, and an iconic lead in Keanu Reeves, “John Wick” has become the standard for any action film today.

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However, not every part of the franchise was a hit. The spin-off Peacock series “The Continental: From the World of John Wick” had a lukewarm reception and was not renewed for a second season.

Most fans point to the spin-off missing creator Derek Kolsted and director Chad Stahelski as a major reason for it falling short of expectations. And it seems that Stahelski agrees.

In an interview with James Hibberd of The Hollywood Reporter, Stahelski revealed that he and star Keanu Reeves were largely ignored during the production of “The Continental.”

“Keanu and I were — I wouldn’t say sidelined, but our opinion was heard and not really noted,” Stahelski said. “[The studio] tried to convince me they knew what they were doing. A group of individuals thought they had the magic sauce.

“But if you take out Basil Iwanyk’s producing intuitiveness, if you take out Keanu’s way of delivering quirky dialogue and if you take out all the visuals I have in my head from Wong Kar-wai, anime, Leone, Bernardo Bertucci or Andrei Tchaikovsky … then it’s not the same thing.

“They thought this was as easy as using anamorphic lenses, do a kooky hotel, put in weird dialogue, and insert crime drama.”

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“If you saw our process, you’d be like, ‘You’re telling me this billion dollar franchise does it this way?'” Stahelski continued.

“I’m scouting my next film in London and we saw a cool location yesterday which totally changed the second act. We rewrote the whole thing. I find great cast members and rewrite their parts constantly.

“That’s what makes [the movies] so good and organic — we’re constantly upgrading. But the studio likes to know what they’re getting for their buck and want to lock a script for budget reasons. While we’re saying, ‘Just write the check, we’ll see you at the finish line.'”

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This seems to be the case for the newest film in the franchise, “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina,” starring Ana De Armas.

Opening in theaters on June 6, “Ballerina” is already receiving critical praise for doing what the previous films did so well. And it’s likely that the upcoming “Caine”, based on Donny Yen’s fan-favorite character, will do the same.

In the end, it seems that if there’s a formula that results in making a franchise the best in its genre, you probably shouldn’t mess with it.

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