Following the career of a single professional in the fast-paced world of blockbuster action cinema can often be a bit strange. Though the modern era of superhero movies and big franchises can feel stagnant, many interesting career paths are mixed in. Take Chad Stahelski, one of the most respected action directors of the decade, who began his career as a humble stuntman.
The John Wick franchise is something of an anomaly in modern Hollywood. The first entry was a solid mid-budget neo-noir revenge film that earned three sequels off the back of pure audience enjoyment. Each film built its audience on a selling point that is no longer unique but remains undefeated.
What is The Crow About?
Released in 1994, Alex Proyas's adaptation of James O'Barr's classic comic book series The Crow is one of the most influential action films of the era. The 90s were a very different time, but that distinct all-black aesthetic has The Matrix and The Crow to thank for its prevalence. That particular edgy vibe extended to the soundtrack, which featured solid goth rock mainstays like The Cure and Nine Inch Nails. The Crow was something of a sleeper hit, gathering a strong base of support from a niche audience and eventually becoming a legendary outsider comic book movie.
Like the comic, The Crow follows an immortal revenant who seeks to avenge the death of his beloved fiancé. Rock star Eric Draven is brutally murdered by the attackers who leave his true love for dead. A mysterious crow raises Draven from the dead, granting him superhuman strength and nigh immortality. His new powers allow him to seek out the criminals who killed him and claim revenge, eliminating them one by one. It's a violent odyssey, in which a black-clad hero systematically slaughters all those who wronged him. He teams up with a rambunctious little girl and a kind police Sergeant to find his targets and protect the innocent. Unfortunately, The Crow was plagued by an on-set tragedy that forever changed the cultural conversation around the film.
How did Chad Stahelski Contribute to The Crow?
During the production of The Crow, Brandon Lee suffered a mortal wound as a result of a mishandled gun on set. In short, the shoot used a real .44 caliber revolver loaded with dummy rounds, which featured real bullets without gunpowder. Firing one of these handmade fakes resulted in a bullet lodging itself in the barrel of the weapon. Firing a blank, which features no bullet, launched the lodged bullet with the usual force, striking Lee. After his passing, studios pulled out and the production staff prepared to cancel the film. The Crow was initially planned as a straight-to-video feature, but after Lee's passing, Miramax stepped in with a cash injection and promised a theatrical release. Lee's work on the film was nearly complete, but there were still some scenes that required the star to appear. To capture those moments and save the film, Brandon Lee's stunt double Chad Stahelski stepped in.
Stahelski, credited as Chad Storelson, was the stunt performer tasked with pulling off many of Lee's most dangerous action moments in The Crow. After Lee's passing, Stahelski had to take on a more central role in the production. Since most of the footage that required Brandon Lee had already been captured, Stahelski only needed to step in for a few days of filming. The script required some rewrites to accommodate the new cast, but Stahelski served as a stand-in for Lee. The opening scene, for example, was recreated with computer graphics, using some earlier footage of Lee. Stahelski appeared in a few scenes that would later see Lee's face digitally pasted over his, most of which were deliberately devised as long shots to disguise that look as much as possible. Stahelski previously trained with Lee at the same LA martial arts academy, allowing him to be the perfect double. Lee's death fundamentally changed the direction of the film, turning it very much into a film about processing grief. Stahelski has spoken about that process, but it's tough to imagine the feeling of losing a respected colleague and being asked to step in to complete the biggest project of his career.
The Crow is the first project to catapult Stahelski to stardom, and its complicated legacy laid a path that now culminates in the John Wick franchise. Three years after The Crow, Stahelski founded 87North with fellow stunt performer David Leitch. Two years after that, he appeared as Keanu Reeves' stunt double in The Matrix. One gritty revenge film led to the creation of so many more, eventually culminating in possibly the most popular example of the genre to ever exist. Chad Stahelski has a very interesting career, and though it begins with one of the great tragedies of blockbuster cinema, it's still going strong with a ton of fascinating projects in the near future.