Beloved actor Keanu Reeves has been discussing his cameo as the dog-loving assassin John Wick in the upcoming spinoff, Ballerina. Appearing at SXSW 2023 (via Deadline), where John Wick: Chapter 4 has just premiered to a stellar reaction, Reeves did not mess around when asked whether Baba Yaga will in fact make an appearance alongside Ana de Armas’ mysterious ballerina.
“I have a cameo in Ballerina, that’s true.”
While it has been revealed through multiple sources that Reeves’ John Wick will appear in Ballerina, it’s nice to hear it confirmed so unambiguously by the actor himself. Discussing the project, and potential further spinoffs, Reeves revealed that he is eager to play “the spoken and outspoken” parts of the role and the world-building that has become so synonymous with the John Wick franchise.
“This was a pure, simple gesture,” Reeves said, referring to a moment in the first movie which sees John Wick put a gold coin down on the desk of Lance Reddick’s character, Charon, the concierge at the Continental Hotel in New York. “That shows up throughout all the relationships in the movie where everyone sees that detail in the world behind the world,” he added.
Directed by Total Recall and Die Hard 4 filmmaker Len Wiseman, and from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shay Hatten in collaboration with Emerald Fennell, Ballerina takes place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4 and follows ballerina-assassin Rooney (Ana de Armas) as she hunts the murderers of her family.
Alongside Ana de Armas and Keanu Reeves, Ballerina stars Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, and Anjelica Huston, each of whom will reprise their prior roles. The rest of the cast includes the likes of Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects, Hereditary), Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), and Catalina Sandino Moreno (From, Maria Full of Grace).
Ballerina Could Spark the John Wick Cinematic Universe
Ballerina writer Shay Hatten believes that, should Ballerina be as successful as Mr. Wick, the spinoff could spark the John Wick cinematic universe. "I think this movie is just opening up more and more avenues of this world. There's all these little pockets of different crime families, and different corners of the world that John might never have a reason to go visit in his mainline story quest,” he said. “But 'Ballerina,' through the lens of the ballet theatre that we see John visit in the third movie, explores a character who's come up through that, and then gets sent on a journey to a new pocket of the Wick world that I think is a concept that we haven't seen in any of the four previous movies. I think it really just shows this limitless potential for expanding and exploring the grey areas of this world."
As for Wick himself, Keanu Reeves will return as the gun-toting assassin later this month in John Wick: Chapter 4. The sequel finds the titular assassin uncovering a path to defeating the High Table, but before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into new foes. With the price on his head ever-increasing, John Wick: Chapter 4 sees Wick takes his fight against the High Table global as he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld, from New York to Paris to Osaka to Berlin.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on March 24, 2023.