Films do not just make or break actors, it also does the same to those behind the camera, including the director. When John Wick premiered in 2014, everybody knew its star, the internet’s boyfriend Keanu Reeves, but the directors were relatively unknown.
With its success, people came to know David Leitch, who directed the Fast & Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw which recently topped the weekend opening, as one of the masters behind the neo-noir film.
Magic of ‘John Wick’
His directorial debut would make him one of the most sought-after action directors after showing his filmmaking skills in a couple of films. But before he tried his luck in directing, David was actually a second unit director and stunt coordinator, who later tapped on fellow stunt man Chad Stahelski for John Wick.
Little did they know that this was what will catapult them to stardom – something that they had no idea would change their lives.
Keanu also got to shake the world with another action film, after he surprised the public with The Matrix franchise. Chad went on to work with the next John Wick picture, whereas David decided to take on his own adventures. He directed 2017’s Atomic Blonde, starring Charlize Theron, and was supposed to take on an X-Force film at Fox, but something happened that he couldn’t say no to.
‘Deadpool 2’
David was tapped for the sequel of Deadpool after Tim Miller backed out of the action-comedy, and there was no way he would miss this opportunity to work with the ever-hilarious Ryan Reynolds. The fruits of his and his team’s labor amounted to a whopping $785 million just for the sci-fi film.
The filmmaker proved he can make stellar pictures with the allotted budget and in the given timeframe while making sure it stands out from the rest. With these credits at his helm, there was no question as to why Universal chose him to direct the Fast & Furious standalone.
‘Hobbs & Shaw’
Hobbs & Shaw narrates the story of Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw, who were enemies in the mother films but now team up to fight Idris Elba’s super high-tech character Brixton.
As you would expect from the spin-off, it reinvents the same gritty action sequence that’s normal in the Fast & Furious franchise, but the movie packs comedic value, too – which was what David really intended to do to give his handiwork its own pizzaz.
One scene where he particularly showed what he meant by this was the sequence toward the end of the movie. (Warning: Spoiler ahead.) In the helicopter scene where the duo must attach a chain to it from the tow truck to bring it down – something that avid action fans have seen coming from a mile – the filmmaker thought of nothing short of genius.
With many stuntmen available, the director couldn’t simply pass on the opportunity. So what David did was to imbibe the “family” feels common in the Fast & Furious franchise and popped three more of Hobbs’ Samoan brothers to help.
