Ballerina

‘s trailer just revealed the biggest struggle that John Wick 5

and the future of the franchise is facing. When John Wick first debuted in 2014, the film firmly established itself as a major contender in the franchise space. While many other franchises are built on the foundations of previously existing IPs, John Wick stood out as an original concept with room to grow and expand further. All of that potential stemmed from the simple fact that in the world of John Wick, everyone is a highly skilled ᴀssᴀssin, and there is a strict honor code among these ᴅᴇᴀᴅly killers to help maintain order.

This world is incredibly intriguing, and in just one movie, the ideas that would form the foundation of everything to come were all firmly in place. And while Keanu Reeves’ Baba Yaga stood to impress and drive the narrative forward, locations like The Continental, secretive organizations like The High Table, and various other ᴀssᴀssins all proved that they had a lot more stories to tell. This is evidenced by the fact that one brief moment featuring a ballerina dancing on a stage has since been expanded with Ana de Armas cast to play this dancing ᴀssᴀssin, and build out a new branch of the story in the John Wick universe.

Ballerina’s Newest Trailer Confirms How Valuable Keanu Reeves Is To The Franchise

Keanu Reeves Is The Heart & Face Of The John Wick Universe

However, as much as excitement and anticipation for this project has been boiling over since it was first announced in 2022, the first trailer for the movie, released in March 2025, released three months ahead of the movie’s release, proved that the franchise is leaning heavily on Keanu Reeves. Of course, Reeves is a spectacular actor, and he has helped to bring several action heroes to life in incredible ways. But whether the franchises he helps to build can survive without him remains to be seen. It certainly hasn’t happened with his other projects.

And now, with John Wick’s universe expanding, the Ballerina trailer has stoked the flames of excitement for what could be the next era of the franchise. But, the fact that the most exciting part of the trailer is when Wick comes into the frame certainly makes it seem more challenging for the series and its potential future. Reeves is an integral part of John Wick, and if the franchise hopes to move forward, it needs to figure out a way to keep audiences engaged without the star who made it work in the first place.

John Wick Cannot Continue Without Keanu Reeves’ тιтular Character For Too Long

What Is John Wick Without John Wick?

The issues run far deeper in the series, however, with the mainline movies being named after the тιтular hero played by Reeves. While the spin-offs could get away with moving beyond Wick, there is a much greater challenge that will come from trying to progress the central storyline. For now, Ballerina works as a solid entry that expands on the series, and, thanks to its earlier placement in the timeline, it serves as a sort of half-sequel to the main series, but if Reeves wasn’t included, it would be hard to define how exactly the movie ties in with the rest of the world.

And that’s another part of the central problem. So far, everything is simply adding to and refining John Wick’s story. These other movies and shows might unpack another character’s experience, but it always appears to tie back in with Wick. If the franchise wants to move beyond this central character, it is not going about it the right way, and these smaller parts leading back to Wick only add to the anticipation of seeing the character return once again. But that doesn’t work if the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 is to be believed, because Wick is supposed to be ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.

Even If Ballerina Is Great, There’s No Way John Wick 5 Works Without Reeves

John Wick 5 Needs Keanu Reeves

Now, with confirmation from executives involved with the John Wick franchise, it’s been revealed that John Wick will have a Chapter 5. But how exactly is that supposed to work without Keanu Reeves? It could be a prequel, following another point in his timeline, and it could even see Reeves recast depending on how far back in time it goes, but it makes no sense to have a John Wick 5 that doesn’t have the тιтle character present. And Ballerina’s trailer just proves how much the series needs Wick.

If John Wick 5 can come up with a clever way to reveal Wick didn’t die, that could be the right move for taking the story forward, but it needs to be great. If the explanation is lacking, or non-existent, it could serve to bring down the quality of the entire franchise and simply make it feel like a farce. But the same could be true if Reeves is not brought back to reprise the role, as he did more than just become the face of the franchise, he embodied the character and made the series stand out in an era when action movies were not at their peak.

Ballerina Is Not The Only Upcoming John Wick Project That Isn’t About John Wick

Presently, the John Wick franchise is exploring ways to open up the universe with and without John Wick in several other projects. Of those announced, there is a show which will focus on The High Table, a movie set to revolve around the character Caine, and additional movies, shows, and even a possible video game. Whether or not Wick will be included in any or all of these projects remains to be seen, but it seems very likely, following the response to his appearance in Ballerina’s trailer, that the franchise will try to continue to capitalize on the character.

However, with projects like The Continental, it was clear that the lack of Wick hurt the series overall. As interesting as the world of John Wick may be, the franchise has yet to figure out a way forward without the main man. Keanu Reeves adds to this by being a simply fantastic actor whose presence makes a huge impact. If he were to be excluded from an upcoming feature, that would be sure to have a knock-on effect on reviews and the overall success. But whether John Wick can continue in John Wick 5 with some new version of the character, or leave him behind will unlikely be answered by the success or failure of Ballerina.