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Director Chad Stahelski has admitted that he was "kind of against" Keanu Reeves appearing as John Wick in the spin-off movie Ballerina.
The filmmaker has directed all four films in the main John Wick franchise, which has been so successful that it has sparked a spin-off TV series and two movies.
The first spin-off film, Ballerina, is set during the events of the third John Wick film and follows ballerina-turned-assassin Eve Macarro, played by Ana de Armas.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stahelski confirmed that Reeves initially wasn't supposed to have a small appearance as his assassin character John, but he was later added to give Ballerina "a fighting chance".
"That wasn't in the original script. To be honest, I was kind of against it," he candidly stated. "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."
Stahelski, who served as a producer on Ballerina, also revealed that the second spin-off movie, Caine, will not feature John Wick.
However, Reeves may return to the character in a fifth John Wick film as Stahelski is "actively working" on trying to come up with a "satisfying" story after the conclusion of the fourth chapter.
"We've got a pretty good story that I think is cool. Once we have a 50-page book, and if we're feeling it, we'll sit with Keanu and shape this thing. Look, everybody seems to want it. It's a matter of whether we crack it," he said, adding that the studio wants them to "really try" to make it happen.
Ballerina is in cinemas now.
The filmmaker has directed all four films in the main John Wick franchise, which has been so successful that it has sparked a spin-off TV series and two movies.
The first spin-off film, Ballerina, is set during the events of the third John Wick film and follows ballerina-turned-assassin Eve Macarro, played by Ana de Armas.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stahelski confirmed that Reeves initially wasn't supposed to have a small appearance as his assassin character John, but he was later added to give Ballerina "a fighting chance".
"That wasn't in the original script. To be honest, I was kind of against it," he candidly stated. "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."
Stahelski, who served as a producer on Ballerina, also revealed that the second spin-off movie, Caine, will not feature John Wick.
However, Reeves may return to the character in a fifth John Wick film as Stahelski is "actively working" on trying to come up with a "satisfying" story after the conclusion of the fourth chapter.
"We've got a pretty good story that I think is cool. Once we have a 50-page book, and if we're feeling it, we'll sit with Keanu and shape this thing. Look, everybody seems to want it. It's a matter of whether we crack it," he said, adding that the studio wants them to "really try" to make it happen.
Ballerina is in cinemas now.