As the premiere of "John Wick" approached, the production crew released a new trailer, which revealed a key plot point and the cause behind Jonathan's, played by Martin, killing spree—the dog!
It was because Jonathan went on a killing spree after his deceased wife's beloved dog was killed by the Russians.
To Martin, Russians naturally came with a certain heat.
Martin was red-hot, and so was the film—every news story about it garnered attention.
Under the newly released trailer on YouTube, a top comment quickly gained popularity.
"They shouldn't have killed Martin's dog!"
The topic of the dog began to simmer online, drawing in not just those who were already following Martin and the movie, but a new demographic—families with dogs.
In America, owning dogs was exceedingly common; many people saw them as members of the family,
Using the death of a dog as motivation set this apart from other action movies and intersected perfectly with internet culture.
