From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is set to deliver the killer brawl that the franchise’s first spinoff The Continental failed to. The John Wick movies have been a huge franchise for Lionsgate, with Chapter 4 being the most successful to date. Despite the ᴀssᴀssin’s supposed death in the fourth entry, Reeves is confirmed to return for John Wick 5 because the series is too dang successful to stop. The studio also knows that Keanu Reeves’ knees can hold out forever, so they’ll need to set up some spinoffs if the franchise is to continue.

To that end, there are plenty of John Wick spinoffs on the way, including an animated prequel that will detail Wick’s “impossible” job and a Caine solo movie starring Donnie Yen. Ballerina will be the first big test of how the series could fare outside of Wick, even though Reeves will return in a supporting role. The story finds Ana de Armas’ ᴀssᴀssin Eve traveling to a remote town filled with killers to confront her father’s murderer. Judging by the trailers alone, Eve will be killing WAY more than one person during her revenge quest.

Ballerina Can Deliver On The Killer Showdown That Peacock’s Continental Series Failed To

This John Wick prequel was a labored cash grab

Ballerina isn’t the first John Wick offshoot, with that honor going to Peacock prequel The Continental. This 1970s-set series detailed how a young Winston (Colin Woodell) came to manage the тιтular H๏τel, which he took over in the most hostile manner possible. Originally produced for Starz, the series promised a deeper look into the franchise’s underworld and the Continental itself, where ᴀssᴀssins from all walks of life can chill on neutral ground.

It’s almost shocking the Wick movies never had John forced to battle his way through all the guests there as a setpiece. That’s essentially the premise of The Continental, where Winston’s crew performs a heist in the H๏τel and fights through waves of killers. Sadly, the show never lived up to its potential, and while the setpieces were serviceable, they were a pale imitation of the movie series. With Ballerina seeing Eve batting through another locale filled with ᴀssᴀssins, the spinoff has the chance to execute this idea properly.

The trailers for Ballerina show off some intense combat, including Eve wielding a flamethrower and being such an effective killer that the town has to call in John Wick to stop her. The involvement of the cast and crew behind the films also means there’s a continuity between the spinoff and its big screen counterparts, which was an element The Continental lacked.

What Went Wrong With John Wick’s Continental Show

Viewers quickly checked out of The Continental

On paper, The Continental sounded like a strong concept for a TV series. It could have been an anthology exploring the different killers that checked in and out or explored the behind-the-scenes politics that went into running it. The prequel idea wasn’t a bad one, but in execution, it had a muddled story with an unlikable cast of characters. Woodell deserves credit for his charming turn as Winston, but his performance was the only engaging one.

Being a prequel, it made sense that characters like Wick himself didn’t appear. Even so, the lack of returning cast or involvement with creatives behind the films – namely director Chad Stahelski – hurt The Continental. Even the weakest John Wick sequel has some memorable setpieces, dialogue, or character moments, but devotees of the franchise would be hard-pressed to remember much about Peacock’s TV prequel.

Despite only arriving in 2023, The Continental has already slipped out of cultural memory. It won’t be receiving a second season either, and moving ahead, it appears Chad Stahelski will have more of a say in how the John Wick universe expands. This includes coming onboard Ballerina itself for reshoots and adding new action sequences after the original cut was found lacking.

Ballerina Needs To Work After John Wick’s Disappointing First Spinoff

Reeves will likely be done with the franchise after John Wick 5

While he doesn’t look it, Keanu Reeves is now in his 60s. That’s even more impressive considering how intensely physical the John Wick movies are, and the star has often discussed the physical toll they take. That’s one reason Chapter 4 closed with Wick’s demise, as Reeves wanted to close his time as the character on a high note while he was physically up to the task. In the aftermath, movies like Ballerina and a potential TV series dubbed Under the High Table were put into development to keep the saga running.

With The Continental being such a letdown, Lionsgate needs Ballerina to work if they hope to continue beyond John Wick 5. In all likelihood, Reeves will bow out as the character after the fifth entry, but if the Ballerina series is already up and running, the studio will have a safety net. The world of John Wick is so rich there are many avenues it could explore if and when Reeves decides to walk away, but if viewers reject Ballerina, that task will only become harder.