Keanu Reeves Is Appearing In John Wick Spinoff, Here’s How Much He’ll Be In It
Keanu Reeves appears as John Wick in Ana de Armas' Ballerina spin-off in a substantial role beyond a glorified cameo.
John Wick is easily one of Keanu Reeves’ best and coolest roles, so it’s little wonder that fans want to see much more of him as the character. Fortunately, we’re going to be getting more of Wick in the Ana de Armas spin-off Ballerina, and it’s apparently going to be a lot more than a glorified cameo. Ballerina co-writer Shay Hatten talked to Collider and revealed, “We got him to be in it for a good chunk,” adding, “He’s a real character, and it’s not just kind of a one-piece cameo.”
Keanu Reeves was on set filming for a week for Ballerina, which is plenty of time to shoot a juicer role than just a brief appearance. Reeves’ Wick won’t be the only one crossing over from the mothership franchise, as we’ll also be getting appearances from Ian McShane’s Winston, Anjelica Huston as The Director, and Lance Reddick as Charon in one of his final performances before his untimely passing. Hatten also reveals that the film will be taking place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4.
Ballerina will follow Ana de Armas as the titular assassin who seeks revenge after her family is killed. Len Wiseman is directing the spin-off, and Promising Young Woman’s Emerald Fennell also contributed to the screenplay with Hatten. Along with Keanu Reeves, McShane, Reddick, Huston, and de Armas, the film also stars Norman Reedus, Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Anne Parrillaud, and Caleb Spillyards.
With the undeniable success of Keanu Reeves’ John Wick franchise, it could be easy to see Ballerina becoming a spin-off franchise and getting multiple films of its own. There’s clearly demand for the high-octane action and gun-fu the franchise brings to the table, considering each film has progressively made more money than the last. John Wick: Chapter 4, the latest film in the franchise, almost made more in its domestic opening weekend than the first film did during its entire theatrical run.
Not only is Keanu Reeves’ John Wick: Chapter 4 making buckets of money, but it’s also critically acclaimed. Each film has received mostly positive reviews, and the latest has been called the best in the franchise. It certainly seems like there’s no slowing the franchise down at this point.
Although Keanu Reeves isn’t going to be in it, we’re getting another John Wick spin-off soon with the TV miniseries The Continental, which is about the early days of the titular hotel and assassin safe haven. The Continental will follow younger versions of McShane’s Winston and Reddick’s Charon. The cast includes Colin Woodell, Ayomide Adegun, Peter Greene, Mel Gibson, Nhung Kate, Jeremy Robb, and Katie McGrath.
In short, there will be a lot more of the Keanu Reeves franchise in the future as long as there’s interest and boatloads of money flowing in. As for when we can see another entry in the mainline franchise, we might have to wait a while. While director Chad Stahleski and Reeves have both indicated their interest, they did say they might be taking a bit of a break.
In the meantime, you can see Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 4 in theaters now. Ballerina is in post-production, but there isn’t a solid release date yet. We should be seeing The Continental sometime in 2023.
