The John Wick franchise is taking a risk by bringing Keanu Reeves into its Ballerina spinoff, but that risk may ultimately be the right call. Ballerina will star Ana de Armas as Rooney, a female assassin who briefly appeared in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, seeking revenge on the group that killed her family. Representing a new direction for John Wick in its fifth installment, Ballerina is an opportunity for the franchise to expand, diversify its storytelling, and set a new foundation to continue the series as Reeves ages. The decision to bring back Reeves's John Wick character in Ballerina makes that more difficult, but the potential payoff could justify it.
Keanu Reeves returning in the John Wick Ballerina spinoff runs the risk of overshadowing the introduction of Ana de Armas as a lead character and creating a scenario where the new spinoff franchise cannot stand on its own outside of callbacks to its parent series. This potential pitfall is inherent to all spinoffs, and some franchises deal with it better than others. But it will be particularly important for Ballerina to justify its own existence as Reeves looks to continue making sequels in the mainline John Wick franchise. If Ballerina simply feels like another John Wick sequel, audiences will become fatigued. However, Ballerina can actually outshine its predecessors by showing some restraint around Reeves's appearance.
Why John Wick In Ballerina Could Work
If there's any actress who seems up to the task of establishing a new, stylish, and exciting action franchise within a larger universe it's Ana de Armas. Fans of the James Bond franchise have even already called for an Ana de Armas No Time To Die spinoff. She has also received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in Netflix's Blonde. The actress has quickly become a household name and superstar-level box office draw. Choosing her as the lead for Ballerina gives the John Wick franchise a unique opportunity to attract existing fans using Keanu Reeves's now-iconic character and to find new fans by leveraging de Armas's rising star power and proven action skills to tell a unique story — the goal of every spinoff.
How Keanu Reeves' John Wick Can Appear In Ballerina
In the world of John Wick, Rooney the Ballerina is a part of the Ruska Roma, an organization of Russian gypsies introduced in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum that trains children to be assassins. Under his real birth name, Jardani Jovanovich, John Wick was himself a part of this organization. This connection between John Wick and Rooney could be the proper entry point for the former in Ballerina. Since the movie follows Rooney's quest for revenge against the assassins who murdered her family, it's possible that the Ruska Roma are responsible, and John Wick could be the person who informs Rooney about the dirty truth of her upbringing.
This setup would meet all the necessary conditions to establish Ballerina as a meaningful part of the John Wick franchise and justify Keanu Reeves's return while still allowing for Ana de Armas's new character to establish herself outside of Wick's shadow. With so many upcoming John Wick movies, shows, and spinoffs, it's important that the franchise is careful not to over-rely on Reeves. Ballerina choosing to bring him back as John Wick risks fatiguing fans of the once charmingly small action franchise. However, the star power and action film bona fides of Ana de Armas make that risk well worth the reward if the Ballerina spinoff integrates Reeves into the story with the proper level of respect for its new character.