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It's an impressively balanced effort in Ballerina to ensure not only that John Wick plays more than a cameo in the story, but where in his own story we're finding him as well. A ballet performance here, a ticket torn there, and it's clearly established where in the Baba Yaga's battle with the High Table, Eve's own mission of vengeance is taking place. However, even with all these nifty little winks and nods to the beloved franchise, there were two moments in John Wick: Chapter 3 -- Parabellum that director Len Wiseman was close to including but didn't, no matter how cool it might have been to see it.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about the creative choices to include or avoid the bullets, blades, and grenades going back and forth between these two action-heavy stories, Wiseman had some great ideas to reveal how close Eve's revenge mission was playing alongside John's. ”As a fan, there were potential moments that I was really excited to work into the movie," Wiseman explained. "In the scene where Eve first arrives at the Continental, you’d see a bunch of motorcycles speeding in the background of the city on the bridge. That would’ve been cool for anyone who’s really paying attention to detail. ‘There’s the samurai and John on motorcycles.’”
The motorcycles in question tear up the streets early on in Chapter 3, which would highlight just how busy this fictional world is, and that you really can't turn a corner without some cold-blooded killer causing trouble. With that chase scene in mind and the timing of Eve's visit, Wiseman also considered bringing another character from Parabellum in during the ballerina's trip to the legendary hotel, or at least a reference to him.
“Right after Eve checks into the Continental, she’d go up to her room, and we’d see a view of the hotel to where we think the movie is ending,” Wiseman revealed. “Then we’d hear a screech, and the camera pans down just in time to catch two motorcycles crashing at the base of the Continental.” The two bikes in question are the ones ridden by John and Mark Dacascos' Zero, who, like many others, fails to take the legendary hitman down.
Of course, following recent news, it seems that Mr. Wick remains undefeated with confirmation that John Wick 5 is on the cards and will see Reeves back in black after escaping death at the end of Chapter 4. If that's not enough for you, there's also the other spin-off centered around Donnie Yen's Caine, the blind assassin who helped John out in the last installment. Needless to say, the franchise that focused on a one-man army will get pretty crowded over the next few years.
For now, while we get giddy over the prospect of these stupidly cool people killing in a stupidly cool fashion, why not pay respect to the dude that started it all and take a look at the 35 greatest Keanu Reeves films here.
