Chad Stahelski, the director of the John Wick franchise, recently opened up about his initial hesitation to have Keanu Reeves appear in the Ballerina spin-off. Stahelski revealed that the cameo wasn’t part of the original script, and he was initially against it. 
However, with the massive success of John Wick 4, which earned $440 million globally, Stahelski understood why the studio felt it was necessary to include Reeves.
Stahelski explained that the inclusion of Wick was a strategic move to give the movie a ‘fighting chance’ at success. He acknowledged that the Ballerina project, directed by Len Wiseman, couldn’t go back to the modest approach of the first John Wick film. ‘To stay in the same game, you’ve got to give it a fighting chance,’ Stahelski said. ‘And the easiest way to transfer that over – at least from the studio point of view – was to have Wick in Ballerina in a special timeline.’
Despite the cameo, Ballerina had a softer-than-expected opening weekend, grossing $51 million globally, leading some to question whether Wick’s appearance was enough to draw in audiences. Lionsgate even added the tagline ‘From the World of John Wick’ to make it clear that the film was connected to the franchise. However, the future of the John Wick universe remains promising with more spin-offs in the works, though not every one will feature Keanu Reeves. For instance, Stahelski confirmed that the upcoming Caine spin-off, starring Donnie Yen, will not feature the iconic assassin, John Wick. ‘It’s got Donnie Yen and it’s an ode to kung fu movies,’ Stahelski explained. ‘This is about Chow Yun-fat, John Woo, and Wong Kar-wai.’
While Ballerina might not have hit the high notes expected from the John Wick universe, Stahelski and the team are confident that the upcoming spin-offs will continue to build on the success of the main franchise.