John Wick’s director Chad Stahelski recently revealed that casting Keanu Reeves in the upcoming spin-off Ballerina wasn’t part of the original plan.
Reeves, 60, who garnered widespread acclaim for portraying John Wick in the action-thriller franchise, will appear in a cameo as the “Baba Yaga” in the fifth sequel to the 2014 original.
In an exclusive conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Stahelski 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].”
Later in the interview, the 56-year-old filmmaker reflected on the momentum created by the success of Chapter 4.
Speaking to the outlet, he added, “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.”
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is set to hit cinemas on Friday, June 6.
For the unversed, fans of the franchise are thrilled to see Reeves reprising his iconic role in the upcoming spin-off.