John Wick star Keanu Reeves explains his character's involvement in Ana de Armas' upcoming spinoff movie, Ballerina. The first John Wick movie in 2014 was a surprise hit, kickstarting a franchise that now features three feature films with a fourth on the way. In addition to the fourth installment, production is currently underway on Ballerina, which stars de Armas as a young assassin who sets out for revenge after the murder of her family. Aside from Wick himself, the spinoff is also expected to feature other John Wick characters like Ian McShane's Winston, Lance Reddick's Charon, and Anjelica Huston's Director. Directed by Len Wiseman, Ballerina will also feature new characters played by Norman Reedus, Gabriel Byrne, and Catalina Sandino Moreno.
In a recent interview with Total Film (via GamesRadar), Reeves offers up some additional details on his role in Ballerina, hinting that Wick may not actually be getting very much screen time. Despite this, however, Reeves promises that his character's appearance doesn't feel forced and is actually "very organic." The actor also shares some high praise for de Armas, who apparently is a natural when it comes to filming action scenes. Check out Reeves' full comment below:
"It’s a cool story. Len Wiseman has a vision, but is also embracing, affectionately, the world of John Wick. Ian McShane is in it as Winston. So I felt that there was a cool handoff of stewardship, and it was fun to put the suit on again, however briefly. There’s a reason for [John] to be in Ballerina; it’s very organic. And working with Ana was great. She really loves action, and she’s really good at it."
Ballerina Could Be The Future Of The John Wick Franchise
The John Wick franchise is now bigger than ever before, with each new film improving on the last in terms of box office performance. Despite its continued success, however, it's unclear how much longer Reeves will continue to play the titular hitman. Although it was previously planned, John Wick 5 is not yet a sure thing. It does seem likely that Reeves will don the suit for at least one more movie after the upcoming fourth entry, but it's already starting to feel like the franchise is inching toward an endpoint for his character. If a fifth movie is indeed the last time Reeves plays Wick, de Armas and Ballerina could end up being how the franchise continues.
The upcoming spinoff is expected to further delve into the shadowy world of assassins that the mainline John Wick franchise continues to build out, including featuring characters like Winston, Charon, and the Director. It's unclear how these characters will figure into the new story being told, but their involvement, and Reeves', suggests Ballerina and the John Wick movies will have a lot of overlap. When Reeves finally hangs up the suit, audiences may not need to say goodbye to the unique world that the films have created, with the potential for a Ballerina sequel already seeming possible. Plus, depending upon whether Wick himself is still breathing when the dust settles at the end of his final solo film, Reeves' character could potentially continue to appear in a supporting capacity in any of de Armas' future adventures.
Reeves himself is evidently a large part of the reason why the John Wick movies have been so successful, but de Armas has already proven herself to be more than capable as an action star. She appears in No Time To Die for all of 15 minutes and is one of the best parts of the movie, suggesting she could very well be the perfect person to carry the John Wick franchise forward. It remains to be seen how Ballerina will fair with audiences, but it's already shaping up to potentially hold the key to the entire franchise's success after Reeves' eventual exit.
Source: Total Film (via GamesRadar)
