Keanu Reeves revealed that he was allowed to decide where the John Wick spinoff film Ballerina takes place in the franchise's timeline. Ballerina will star Ana de Armas as Roony, a ballerina assassin within the Ruska Roma that goes on a quest to hunt down the people who murdered her family. The film will see Reeves reprise his role as John Wick, taking place in between John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum and the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Reeves said that Ballerina director Len Wiseman allowed him to choose where the film takes place in the John Wick timeline. The actor also discussed his time filming for the movie, clearly happy to participate in the expanding John Wick universe. Check out what Reeves had to say below:
Yeah, I got to work with Ana de Armas, and the director Len Wiseman, and they had a great script, and John Wick has a small part to play in it. Len Wiseman was cool. He was like, 'Where do you want to pitch this story in [the] timeline?' So, it takes place between chapter 3 and chapter 4 of the John Wick stories. It was fun to put the suit back on.
What Ballerina's Timeline Placement Means For John Wick
Reeves' choice to have Ballerina take place while John is recovering with the Bowery King prior to John Wick: Chapter 4 indicates his time in hiding won't be entirely peaceful. John Wick: Chapter 4 takes place six months after the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, meaning John won't be at his full strength in Ballerina.
Since John would still be in recovery, it's possible that he will only appear in the film for a brief tie-in, ensuring audiences know Ballerina takes place in the same world as John Wick. Reeves may have chosen where Ballerina takes place if John's presence in the film isn't action-based. This would make the most sense if John was still recovering from his fall in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, making it the perfect point on the timeline for Ballerina to take place.
As Ballerina will be released after John Wick: Chapter 4, it's likely that John's cameo won't have much of an impact on his own upcoming film. However, since Reeves was the one who placed Ballerina between his John Wick films, there may end up being a hint as to what audiences can expect from de Armas' movie in John Wick: Chapter 4. If there is a tie-in to Ballerina in John Wick: Chapter 4, then it would further strengthen the John Wick universe beyond Reeves' presence in both films.
Source: EW
