How Much Screen Time Keanu Reeves Has in "John Wick" Spinoff "Ballerina"?

Keanu Reeves' cameo in the upcoming John Wick spinoff movie "Ballerina" is a bit more substantial than previously anticipated. 

During an interview with Collider, "John Wick" franchise producer Erica Lee and "Ballerina" co-writer Shay Hatten opened up about how much of Reeves' John Wick fans can expect to see in the Ana de Armas-led spinoff. 

Lee disclosed Reeves was on the set of Ballerina for "about a week", while the late Lance Reddick -- who posthumously reprises his role as Charon -- "shot for a day". 

She added Reeves was a last-minute addition to "Ballerina".

How Much Is John Wick in Ballerina?

Hatten pointed out that the actor's reprisal of John Wick would be more than a mere cameo.

"We got him to be in it for a good chunk," Hatten said. "He's a real character, and it's not just kind of a one-piece cameo. He's got... Well, I shouldn't say too much, but he's in the movie in a way that I think people are going to be really excited by. And it was cool because it really was... the only reason we set it between three and four was because it felt like there was kind of a cool window of time for John there because, at the end of the third movie, he's been shot off the roof. He's really kind of beaten up, and then he recuperates in the Bowery King's basement."

Hatten continued, "And by the time the fourth movie starts, he's healed. He's on a different side of the world. And we just thought, 'Okay, how did he get from point A to point B? What happened in that little time window?' So it just seemed like a really kind of natural way to fit him in and have him interact with this other character's story during that window. So I think it fills in kind of a missing puzzle piece that people will think is interesting, hopefully,".

What Is Ballerina About?

"Ballerina" stars de Armas as Rooney, a dancer-turned-assassin for the ruthless Ruska Roma crime family who seeks revenge against those who murdered her family. The role of Rooney was previously portrayed by Unity Phelan in Parabellum.

Reeves previously revealed that the spinoff will be set between the events of "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" and the newly-released "John Wick: Chapter 4".

"Ballerina starts by introducing a character who kind of went through some of the same training as John in the ballet academy of Anjelica Huston['s character] that we see in the third movie," Hatten added. 

"But then she ends up going to a whole new corner of the world and a new kind of isolated community that really is unlike anything we've seen in these previous John Wick movies."

Len Wiseman directed the movie from a script by Oscar-winner Emerald Fennell. Production on the John Wick spinoff kicked off in Prague in November 2022. The movie was in post-production as of February 2023. 

De Armas is joined in the movie by fellow John Wick franchise newcomers Gabriel Byrne, Norman Reedus, and Catalina Sandino Moreno. 

Anjelica Huston and Ian McShane will also make a cameo in the female-centric spinoff.

"Ballerina" is expected to premiere in 2024.