Ballerina is a brilliant spinoff property from the universe of John Wick that immediately surpᴀssed my expectations, and the film has already spawned discussions of future sequels for Ana de Armas’ fan-favorite character. The ending of Ballerina seems perfectly poised to push this franchise into the future, and the possibilities for this inspired spinoff are much more exciting than the upcoming John Wick 5.

The idea of the confirmed John Wick 5 is an undeniably polarizing one, with many fans claiming that it doesn’t need to be made at all. As the fifth movie in the series, it naturally runs the risk of tiring out this franchise instead of letting it stop while it’s ahead. It’s for this reason that I’m much more excited to see what happens with Ballerina than if Keanu Reeves’ protagonist manages to come back from the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.

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Ballerina Clearly Sets Up A Sequel (And John Wick 4 Doesn’t)

There’s No Immediate Need For John Wick 5

Perhaps the main criticism of John Wick 5 is that it retroactively ruins the ending of John Wick 4. The previous installment seemingly killed Reeves’ protagonist for good, proving that he needed to die in order to sever his ties with the High Table while protecting Caine at the same time. It’s a very potent ending that fits naturally with John Wick’s themes of sacrifice and vengeance, but the confirmation of John Wick 5 seemingly undoes all this great storytelling.

None of these problems exist with Ballerina 2. The spinoff was clearly written with the concept of a sequel in mind, as Ballerina directly sets up the next movie in its ending. Much like Wick’s fate in the second main series movie, Eve Macarro has become an enemy of the High Table and a bounty has been placed on her head. This clearly establishes the stakes of Ballerina 2, proving that there’s plenty of room for this spinoff franchise to head in the same direction as John Wick.

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Ana De Armas Is Becoming A Total Action Star

The Actress Is John Wick’s Most Compelling Star

Reeves was a huge selling point of the original John Wick movies, and his magnetic screen presence is much of the reason that nobody has managed to replace him within the franchise – until now. Ana de Armas displays much of the same charisma and physical apтιтude in Ballerina that made Reeves such a beloved star, meaning she could easily carry the torch of this franchise into the future.

Reeves’ return in John Wick 5 initially seemed necessary for the franchise to get audiences back on board, as the sequel never could have worked without him. But now that de Armas has made such an impressive splash, there’s no reason that Reeves needs to come back when she’s available to take the reins from him. Having John Wick 5 and Ballerina 2 run parallel to each other could simply confuse audiences, especially if their stories cross over.

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Ballerina 2 Could Give Another Filmmaker A SH๏τ

Ballerina Already Proved That New Directors Are Key

One more area where Ballerina 2 surpᴀssed expectations was in Len Wiseman’s directorial talent. It had previously been implied that only Chad Stahelski could make a successful John Wick movie, but Wiseman immediately proved that isn’t the case. While his direction certainly isn’t quite as staggering as Stahelski’s accomplishments, the spinoff effectively proves that John Wick doesn’t have to solely be the work of Stahelski and Reeves.

Though Stahelski was responsible for all of John Wick’s best action sequences, Wiseman offers some equally impressive work in Ballerina. From the flamethrower duels to the grenade stunt work, there are plenty of brilliant set pieces in this spinoff that prove just how much creativity is possible when a new filmmaker is given complete control of this action-packed franchise.

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Ballerina 2 Has Fewer Expectations To Live Up To

There’s No Pressure Riding On The Spinoff’s Sequel

Ballerina 2 feels like a much safer and more natural progression for the John Wick franchise, primarily because John Wick 5 simply has so much pressure riding on its shoulders. It feels like Stahelski has already done everything he could possibly think of in this franchise, and audiences would simply expect more in the fifth installment. Meanwhile, it doesn’t feel like Ballerina has peaked yet. The John Wick movies continually got better with each pᴀssing installment, so there’s still room for Ballerina to do the same.

John Wick 5 doesn’t need to happen for the franchise to be a huge success – it’s already there, both commercially and critically. It’s very unlikely that Stahelski will manage to outdo himself again with the fifth movie, which means that John Wick may end up going out on a fairly underwhelming note. Conversely, it doesn’t really feel like Ballerina has reached its full potential yet, and Ballerina 2 is a necessary next step for that to happen.

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Ballerina Needs More Time To Be As Good As John Wick

Even John Wick Didn’t Get It Totally Right The First Time Around

There are plenty of great fight scenes and dark character moments in 2014’s John Wick, but it feels safe to say that the franchise didn’t peak until the fourth entry. John Wick 2 is a huge improvement over the first movie, as the crew got even more ambitious with their stunt work and fell into a natural storytelling rhythm. It feels unfair to deprive Ballerina of this same progression, because otherwise it will always be lingering in the shadow of the main series.

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Ballerina 2 Would Have More Room To Experiment

The John Wick Movies Have Already Had Time To Develop Their Style

John Wick has already experimented with so many different kinds of action filmmaking; the first movie was a more centralized exhibition of “gun-fu” combat, whereas the second and third movies attempt some riskier, larger-scale set pieces with different weapons and even animals at times. There have been so many interesting ideas explored in these movies, and it would be much more exciting to see how a new filmmaker could handle these action tropes in Ballerina 2 instead of pushing John Wick 5 to go even bigger and bolder once again.

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Ballerina Can Build On The High Table Storyline

The John Wick Villains Won’t Be Back In The Fifth Movie

It’s already been confirmed that the High Table will not play a role in John Wick 5, which is both good and bad news. While it allows the movie to distance itself from the existing sequels and try something new, it also means that much of John Wick’s lore remains unresolved.

There are some lingering questions about the High Table’s Elders that reportedly won’t be explained in John Wick 5, so it only makes sense for the Ballerina universe to take over this narrative thread and weave it into Eve’s story. This seems like a natural progression anyway, as her bounty now means that she’s caught the attention of the High Table and will likely have to face some major consequences.

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A Female-Led Action Franchise Is More Exciting And Subversive

Ana De Armas Deserves To Be The New Face Of This Saga

Ultimately, the biggest reason for Ballerina 2 being a more exciting prospect than John Wick 5 comes down to the fact that Ana de Armas’ female-led action franchise is a lot more refreshing and unique than a fifth installment of John Wick. The latter has already been given four movies to explore some brilliant storylines and ambitious stunt work, but Ballerina has much more potential right now because of how new and fresh it is. There aren’t many popular action franchises led by women in today’s cinematic climate, so it feels unfair to prioritize another male-led series over this innovative spinoff.