John Wick 5would be a huge risk after the last movie ended the story so perfectly, but Keanu Reeves’ upcomingJohn Wickappearance in 2025 will be even riskier. After years of delays due to rewrites, reshoots, and retooling,From the World of John Wick: Ballerinais set to finally arrive in theaters on August 09, 2025.Ballerinais the first official spinoff movie in theJohn Wickfranchise. Ana de Armas stars as Eve Macarro, a ballerina-turned-assassin trained by the Ruska Roma (first seen inJohn Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum).
Ballerinaisn’t just connected to the previousJohn Wickmoviesthrough the tenuous link of a league of assassins posing as a ballet company; it’ll also feature some familiar faces from the mainline series. Anjelica Huston will reprise her role as “The Director,” the mysterious head of the Ruska Roma; Lance Reddick will make a posthumous appearance as Charon, the concierge of the New York Continental; and Ian McShane will return as Winston Scott, the owner of the hotel. And as if that wasn’t enough,it’s also been confirmed that Wick himself will appearintheBallerinacast.
John Wick’s Cameo In Ballerina Could Go Wrong In Many Ways
John’s Ballerina Role Is Still Being Tampered With
From a commercial perspective, it makes sense to include John himself inBallerina. As the title would suggest, that character is the main draw of theJohn Wickfranchise.Merely settingBallerinain the same universe asJohn Wickmight not have been enough to entice audiences to come out to theaters, but the promise of seeing John himself back in action on the big screen might seal the deal. But from a creative standpoint, there are so many ways this cameo could go wrong — and so few ways it could go right.
Winston’s Ballerina Role Makes The Long-Running Theory That He’s John Wick’s Father Less Likely
Winston’s role as a mentor and father figure to Eve in the upcoming Ballerina makes a popular John Wick fan theory much less likely to come true.
John could steal the spotlight from Eve and overshadow her in her own movie. If John’s scene is all anyone is talking about on the film’s opening weekend, then it’ll have failed to tell a worthy story of its own. And even if that’s not the case and John’s cameo complements Eve’s journey instead of distracting from it, the cameo could still feel out of place or gratuitous.It’ll be tricky to come up with an organic reason for John to cross paths with the new protagonist, especially since he’s in hiding at this point intheJohn Wicktimeline.
Ballerinais being directed byLive Free or Die Hard’s Len Wiseman.
The most worrying thing about John’s cameo inBallerinais that the producers still haven’t figured out how to make it work. According to producer Erica Lee,Ballerina’s filmmakers are still tampering with Reeves’ rolein the movie. Lee admitted that they’re “still working on” John’s cameo and trying to figure out “the exact balance” of how much screen time he should have. She promised that viewers “will be really happy” when John shows up inBallerina, but if they still haven’t nailed it down, then that remains to be seen.
Seeing Keanu Reeves Back As John Wick Before The Events Of Chapter 4 Will Be Weird
Chapter 4 Concluded John’s Story Perfectly
Ballerinatakes place between the third and fourthJohn Wickmovies, and it’ll be strange to see Reeves reprise his role at that point in the timeline.John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellumendedwith a shocking twist in which Winston shot John off the roof of the Continental, John fell into the alley below, the Bowery King brought him back to his hideout, and they began to plot their revenge against the High Table. Between then and the beginning ofJohn Wick: Chapter 4,John was supposedly in hiding.
It might make Chapter 4’s ending feel less impactful, because it wasn’t the last time viewers saw John after all.
There was no wayBallerinacould take place afterJohn Wick: Chapter 4and still feature John himself, since John was apparently shot dead atthe end ofJohn Wick: Chapter 4. ButChapter 4ended John’s story so perfectly, allowing him to find peace in death and reunite with his late wife Helen in the great beyond, thatit’ll be odd to see him back on the big screen like none of that happened. It might makeChapter 4’s ending feel less impactful, because it wasn’t the last time viewers saw John after all.
John Wick Returning In A Prequel Doesn’t Answer The Franchise’s Biggest Question
Is John Alive? And If So, How?
It’s exciting that John is returning to the screen in a new movie, but since it’s a prequel taking place beforeChapter 4, it won’t answer the biggest question looming over the franchise. Since John’s death scene was shot and edited so ambiguously — and it’s John Wick, the guy who can seemingly survive anything —there’s a widespread fan theory that John is still aliveat the end ofChapter 4. A body is never shown; it cuts straight from a bleeding John to a well-tended gravesite. It’s unlikely, but not impossible, that John faked his death.
John Wick 5 Has An Even Bigger Challenge Than Bringing Keanu Reeves' Character Back From The Dead
It would be a huge challenge to pull off John Wick: Chapter 5, and not just because Keanu Reeves' iconic assassin was killed off in Chapter 4.
If Reeves was returning as John inJohn Wick: Chapter 5, then the franchise would have to answer the question of whether or not John really died. If he faked his death, then he lives to go on another adventure. If he really died, then he might have to fight his way through the demons of Hell. Frankly,a properJohn Wick 5set in the fires of Hellwould be a much more tantalizing prospect than a cameo appearance in an unrelated spinoff.
Ballerina Must Have More To Offer Than Just Its John Wick Cameo
Eve Needs To Be A Great Character In Her Own Right
As long asBallerinais committed to bringing John back for a cameo appearance, then that cameo appearance needs to be awesome enough to justify recycling a character who already got a perfect ending. But the movie needs to offer more than just a great cameo by Reeves. Eve needs to be a compelling character in her own right — ideally, as compelling as John himself was when audiences were first introduced to a widowed ex-hitman who dusted off his old arsenal and rekindled his long-dormant bloodlust when his adorable puppy was murdered in cold blood.
Saltburndirector Emerald Fennell did some uncredited work on the script forBallerina.
With her brief but unforgettable turn as Paloma inNo Time to Die,de Armas proved she can ably play an action hero and carry her own action vehicle. The biggest challenge will be coming up with a script that’s worthy of her talents. Shay Hatten, one of the writers of the past twoJohn Wickmovies, scriptedBallerina, so he should be able to bring the same thrills he brought to those films. But writing a sequel for an existing iconic character the audience already loves isn’t the same as introducing a brand-new character in theJohn Wickuniverse.
