Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Ballerina!
Ballerinais the firstJohn Wickspinoff movie, and while I really enjoyed it, the film also confirmed my biggest fear about the future of theJohn Wickfranchise. I loveJohn Wick, with the Keanu Reeves action franchise being one of my favorite movie series of all time. I was excited by the prospect of spinoff projects, leading toBallerinabeing one of my most highly-anticipated movies of 2025. However, one detail seen in theBallerinatrailers concerned me, and after seeing the movie, I am skeptical about where theJohn Wickfranchise is headed next.
Ballerinashifts the focus away from Keanu Reeves' John Wick and onto Ana de Armas' Eve Macarro, a ballerina assassin for the Ruska Roma. In the film, Eve trains with the family before leaving on a quest to get revenge, hunting down her father’s killers.Ballerinadoes a lot of work to set Eve up as thenext protagonist of theJohn Wickfranchise, and I would love to see her more in the future. However,Ballerinaalso signals that the franchise is afraid to move away from Keanu Reeves.
John Wick Has A Much Bigger Presence In Ballerina Than I Ever Expected (& That’s Not A Good Thing)
It Cheapens The Impact Of His Death
In the trailers forBallerina, Keanu Reeves' John Wick was seen, confirming that he would appear in the film. I already wasn’t the biggest fan of this, but sinceBallerinatakes place in betweenJohn Wick: Chapter 3 - ParabellumandJohn Wick: Chapter 4, it made sense. However,Wick was inBallerinaso much more than I expected. He was one of the most prominent characters in the film, with him sharing several scenes with Eve and even taking part in several action sequences.
While Keanu Reeves is the face ofJohn Wick, having him be so prevalent throughoutBallerinaisn’t a good thing.John Wick died inJohn Wick: Chapter 4, giving a conclusive end to his story. The announcement ofJohn Wick: Chapter 5already made me concerned about how the franchise would handle the repercussions of this death, andBallerinahas already gotten off to a bad start. By refusing to have a single movie without Keanu Reeves, it signals thatJohn Wickis afraid to move on from him, putting the future of the series in jeopardy.
John Wick 5’s Development Has Already Signaled The Franchise Is Afraid To Lose Keanu Reeves
Even After John Wick’s Death
WhenJohn Wick died inJohn Wick: Chapter 4, the assumption that many fans made was that the 2023 film was the last mainline entry. However,John Wick: Chapter 5was announced shortly afterJohn Wick: Chapter 4was released, causing many to scratch their heads.There has never been a supernatural element to the franchise, meaning that bringing John Wick back would be an odd choice. Thus, the fact that the series is seemingly doing this signals how desperate they are to not lose Keanu Reeves.
John Wick Is Doing A Movie Without Keanu Reeves, But It Needs More
Caine Can’t Be The Only One
If theJohn Wickfranchise wants to survive, it needs to focus more on characters who aren’t John Wick. One of the announcedJohn Wickspinoff movies is already a step in the right direction. Thespinoff movie centered around Caineseems to not have Keanu Reeves involved at all, proving that the franchise can do at least one movie without Wick.
However, this isn’t enough. Even if the spinoffs are doing the correct thing, releasing mainline movies that bring Keanu Reeves back will make it feel as if the franchise doesn’t have consequences. Instead of doingJohn Wick: Chapter 5, the franchise should have just focused on the spinoffs, usingBallerina,The Continental, the Caine movie, and more to find the franchise’s next big protagonist.
