How Is Keanu Reeves’ John Wick Alive?

The trailer for “Ballerina” is finally here! Oh, sorry, my mistake. The movie isn’t actually called “Ballerina.” It’s called “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina,” and before we go any further, let me just say that title stinks. Yeesh! Okay, now that that’s out of the way, we’re going to be calling the movie just “Ballerina.” The new film is set in the John Wick universe, and introduces Ana de Armas as yet another highly-skilled assassin in a world full of highly-skilled assassins. But that’s not all — Keanu Reeves’ John Wick pops up in the trailer, too! Now, Reeves’ presence might lead to some confusion, since the end of the incredible “John Wick: Chapter 4” really made it seem like our boy John was dead (spoiler, I guess? The movie came out a year ago, so I think we’re past spoiler territory at this point).

So how is John Wick back in this trailer? Has he been raised from the dead? Nope! As you might’ve guessed for yourself by now, “Ballerina” is set in the midst of the “John Wick” movie series timeline. In fact, we’ve actually known this for some time. Last year, Reeves confirmed as much to Collider, saying: “[I]t takes place between Chapter Three and Chapter Four, which is nice.” 

But this, of course, raises some questions. Like … when, exactly does it take place? And at what point does Ana de Armas’ character, Eve Macarro, meet John Wick? 

The “Ballerina” trailer actually gives us some clues about the timeline. In the trailer, we see de Armas’ character performing ballet on a stage. Later, she watches from the shadows as John Wick descends a staircase. Walking alongside him is none other than Anjelica Huston. Fans of the “John Wick” series will recognize this as part of a scene that takes place in “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.” In that film, John Wick travels to a theater to meet with Huston’s character, known as the Director. During the course of that scene, we see a heavily-tattooed ballerina performing on a stage. The implication here is that the tattooed ballerina we saw in that film is de Armas’ character. (Side-note: the ballerina character was played by Unity Phelan in “John Wick: Chapter 3,” but it’s understandable that the filmmakers would want to recast the role with a bigger star like Ana de Armas for this spin-off film).

So it’s clear that at least one scene in “Ballerina” takes place during the events of “John Wick: Chapter 3.” What about the rest of the movie? Well, that’s a little murky. If you’ll recall, “John Wick: Chapter 3” ends with John being shot by Ian McShane’s Winston (who also appears in “Ballerina”) and falling off a roof. He’s taken to the underground lair of The Bowery King, played by Laurence Fishburne, to recuperate. In the beginning of “John Wick: Chapter 4,” John has healed from his wounds and heads off from New York City to Morocco on his quest for revenge. Now, this is just a wild stab in the dark, but if I had to guess, I’d say the scene at the end of the “Ballerina” trailer, where de Armas’ Eve talks with John Wick, takes place at some point during John’s time in NYC before he jets off to Morocco. But again, that’s just a guess. It could be set anywhere! And that’s assuming the scene even plays out in the final film as it does in the trailer — this could all be a case of deceptive editing. 

We’ll know more when “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina” (ugh, that title) shoots its way into theaters on June 6, 2025.