Why is John Wick's spinoff Ballerina delayed? Explained

After the tremendous success of John Wick 4, which was the fourth and final installment in the Keanu Reeves-led franchise, fans were looking forward to Ballerina, a spinoff set in the same universe as John Wick and set between the events of the third and fourth films. But sadly, fans will have to wait much longer now, with the film's release date reportedly shifted from June 2024 to June 2025.

This delay is because of some additional sequences that are to be added to the Anna de Armas starrer. As per reports, there are some big set pieces that will be added to the film, which is causing this significant delay. According to EW, Chad Stahelski, who helmed all four John Wick films is working on these additional sequences. This led to the executives agreeing to push back the film by an entire year.

As of recent reports, Ballerina now has a release date of June 6, 2025. As for Lionsgate, they will release The Crow's reboot this year in place of Ballerina. The Crow has a release on June 7, 2024.

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What is Ballerina about?

The action thriller film Ballerina will take place in the already-established environment of John Wick. The film, however, will follow Rooney (played by Ana de Armas), a ballerina by profession, who hunts down the murderers of her family. According to reports, Ana de Armas' character will be under the protection of Winston (Ian McShane) and Charon (Lance Reddick) at the New York Continental Hotel.

The synopsis of the film reads:

"Taking place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4, ballerina-assassin Rooney hunts the murderers of her family."

The film will also mark Reddick's final film role. The film is directed by Len Wiseman, with a script by Shay Hatten. Apart from de Armas, McShane, and Reddick, the film will additionally star Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Norman Reedus.

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Will Keanu Reeves' John Wick be a part of the upcoming film?

Keanu Reeves will also be a part of the cast, much to the excitement of most fans of the franchise and the genre. Though Reeves' character arc came to a complete end by the final film of the original franchise, his character will be a part of this film.

This is primarily because Wick's character died at the end of the fourth film, but this film is a prequel to the fourth film. It is set after all the other three, but precedes the fourth one, making room for Reeves' character.

Not only is this exciting for fans, but Keanu Reeves has also expressed his excitement about the same. In an old interview with EW, Reeves had said:

"I got to work with Ana de Armas, and the director Len Wiseman, and they had a great script, and John Wick has a small part to play in it,...Len Wiseman was cool. He was like, 'Where do you want to pitch this story in [the] timeline?' So it takes place between chapter 3 and chapter 4 of the John Wick stories. It was fun to put the suit back on."

The role that Reeves plays will not be a huge one, but it will still be an important one, and possibly the most anticipated one.

However, this might be the last appearance of the iconic character unless Lionsgate plans on more prequels in the future.

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More details about Ballerina are expected to be revealed soon. The film will be released on June 6, 2025, in theaters.