John Wick creator opens up on why he was against Keanu Reeves' appearance in Ballerina

Keanu Reeves dropping back in as John Wick for Ballerina had fans buzzing, but what if we told you his cameo nearly didn’t make the cut?

Behind the scenes, Chad Stahelski- the mastermind director and co-creator of the John Wick saga- confessed he was actually hesitant about weaving Wick into Ana de Armas’ solo spotlight. Turns out, the Baba Yaga wasn’t even on the original script’s radar. Talk about a plot twist off-screen! Stahelski’s change of heart flipped the game, turning what could’ve been a standalone into a full-throttle ride deeply connected to the legendary assassin’s universe.

But after Chapter 4 blew the box office apart, the studio saw Reeves as a secret weapon to boost the spinoff’s draw, and Stahelski eventually agreed. The result is a timeline-bending appearance that threads the film into the larger Wick universe. What started as a standalone story evolved into a strategic expansion, thanks to some calculated franchise thinking.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stehelski opened up on Reeves' casting choice in Ballerina, as he said,

"That wasn’t in the original script. To be honest, I was kind of against it. But I do see the benefit and we wanted to help out [director Len Wiseman]. We had just opened John Wick 4 and it was huge. He couldn’t go back to the model of the first John Wick and do a little $18 million indie thing and try to build it up. In order to stay in the same game, you got to give him a fighting chance. And the easiest way to transfer that over — at least, from the studio point of view — was have Wick in Ballerina in a special timeline."

What is Ballerina about?

Still from Ballerina (Image via YouTube @/Lionsgate Movies)

The spin-off film swings open the doors to the John Wick universe but with a fresh, fierce twist. Directed by Len Wiseman, it follows Eve Macarro, played by Ana de Armas, a former ballerina turned deadly assassin raised by the Ruska Roma, a mysterious crime syndicate. Following her father's murder, Eve’s life turns around from dance to danger, as she sets off on a razor-sharp mission for revenge.

The movie isn’t just riding on Eve’s fierce grit, it’s packing heavyweight talent like Anjelica Huston, who slinks in as the mysterious Director, Gabriel Byrne playing the shadow-draped Chancellor, and Norman Reedus bringing brooding vibes as the complex Daniel Pine. But the real mic drop was Keanu Reeves swooping back as John Wick, not some blink-and-you-miss-it side cameo, but a major player whose dark legend casts a long, thrilling shadow over Eve’s blood-soaked quest. His return electrifies the film's presence, plugging it deep into the pulse of the John Wick universe, sparking off that addictive combo of nostalgia and fresh adrenaline.