The John Wick franchise’s upcoming spin-off Ballerina is a strong indicator that John Wick himself is not dead. After four movies of battling endless waves of assassins and High Table enforcers, John seemingly met his end in John Wick: Chapter 4 after his High Table duel with his old friend Caine (Donnie Yen). However, with John already confirmed to appear in Ballerina, he still has at least one more big-screen appearance ahead of him.
Ballerina will take place before John’s apparent demise, with the film set between John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4. Meanwhile, the tremendous success of John Wick: Chapter 4 has led to John Wick: Chapter 5 reportedly entering early development. While this might seem primarily motivated by the financial success and critical acclaim of the main John Wick franchise, it is really Ballerina that demonstrates how central the Baba Yaga is to the franchise.
Keanu Reeves’ Ballerina Cameo Proves How Important John Wick Is To The Franchise
The John Wick franchise is a cinematic universe that has finally begun expanding into spinoffs not focused primarily on John Wick. Peacock’s The Continental spinoff series takes place in the early 1970s, which precludes John from appearing, but Ballerina bringing him into its story shows how much the franchise relies on him. What makes that even more true is the fact that Ballerina is the first big-screen chapter of the John Wick universe not centered on him.
To be sure, having John in a supporting role in Ballerina is a wise strategy. Ana de Armas’ Rooney will be the first protagonist in the John Wick universe headlining her own movie, so having the support of the legendary Baba Yaga is a smart business move. Still, the question of whether the John Wick franchise can thrive without him around has not been truly put to the test yet. Ballerina‘s strategy of gradually phasing new protagonists into the franchise’s spotlight with John still on hand might help it commercially, but still establishes the expectation that John Wick can jump back into action at any time.
How John Wick’s Ballerina Spinoff Could Connect To His Chapter 4 “Death”
Despite John being laid to rest next to his wife Helen in John Wick: Chapter 4‘s ending, one fan theory has suggested that John faked his death with the help of Caine and Winston (Ian McShane) to finally escape the High Table. With Ballerina taking place before John Wick: Chapter 4, it could establish Rooney as a potential player in that theoretical cover-up. Indeed, by having John seemingly go out of his way from his own war with the Elder and the High Table to help Rooney on her mission, it has a built-in story mechanism for Rooney to owe John a favor via an assassin marker.
In turn, John might cash in that favor from Rooney by asking her to help him fake his death. Ballerina might reveal such a transaction between John and Rooney outright, or it could simply hint to it to save the actual reveal for John Wick: Chapter 5. Still, while the John Wick universe might be stretching its legs with The Continental, Ballerina, and a spin-off for Donnie Yen’s Caine teased at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, his return in Ballerina shows that it is still very much the John Wick franchise – and that the world has likely not seen the last of the Baba Yaga.
