The world of John Wick has been expanding as of late, with spinoff movies and shows having been produced over the past few years. One of the offshoots fans of the franchise have really been eager to see is Caine, which centers around Donnie Yen’s titular character. Yen’s flick was announced back in 2025 and, fast forward to this week, the movie has now reached a major milestone. Caine has officially wrapped, and we can thank Yen for sharing the moment principal photography was finished.

Donnie Yen has expressed a lot of enthusiasm when it comes to bringing his Wick character back to the big screen. So it shouldn’t have been too surprising when he took to Instagram to celebrate the end of filming on Caine. The revered actor, director and martial artist shared a photo of a production clapboard and, in his caption, he shared the words, “that’s a wrap” and tagged his various collaborators. Check out the post, which can be seen down below:

The fact that this Wick spinoff is now officially wrapped makes the prospect of it hitting theaters feel all the more real. Yen, for his part, has used social media to signify the conclusion of a film shoot before. Back in 2021, he celebrated wrapping on John Wick: Chapter 4 by sharing a video filled with sweet behind-the-scenes moments, including his and co-star Keanu Reeves’ goodbye. I love the sheer amount of passion Yen seems to have about his work, and I’d argue it’s one of the reasons why this new movie is happening.

It was reported back in 2023 that Lionsgate was looking to build upon the John Wick franchise with spinoffs, with Donnie Yen throwing his hat in the ring to reprise his character. By 2024, it seemed certain that a Caine-centered film would be made and, as previously mentioned, the official announcement came the following year. And not only is Yen starring in it, but he’s also directing it from a story he conceived with franchise OG Chad Stahelski. The actual screenplay was penned by Robert Askins and Mattson Tomlin.

For those who need a refresher, Caine was introduced in Chapter 4 as an old friend of John’s, though he finds himself in a tough situation when he’s hired to kill Wick for the sake of his daughter’s safety. The blind High Table assassin more than proves himself to be a formidable combatant, and it’s not hard to understand why Yen, Stahelski and co. would want to put him at the center of his own movie. However, I’d like to think the Ip Man icon didn’t jump into this new opportunity lightly.

Something Yen has been quite vocal about is the presence of Asian stereotypes in media and how he himself has come across them when taking on roles. Considering the thoughts he’s shared, I would imagine that his upcoming film will avoid cultural clichés. And, if that’s the case, audiences could be in for a film that’s not only action-packed but also nuanced when it comes to handling its main character or any others in his orbit.

As John Wick spinoffs continue to be made, it’s my hope that the creative team will maintain the essence of the franchise while also charting out fresh territory that makes sense for this fictional world. I’m hopeful that Donnie Yen and co. will do that with their movie, and I’m eager to see what the finished result will look like on the big screen.

Lionsgate has yet to announce a release date for Caine, but let’s hope it finds a spot somewhere on the 2027 movie schedule. In the meantime, grab an HBO Max subscription and stream John Wick: Chapter 4.

When it comes to the best action movie franchises of the 21st century, few come close to the heights of The Raid movies and the John Wick saga. These hard-hitting, bone-splitting, and lore-rich series pushed the genre to new heights in the 2010s, and there’s a new action flick on the horizon that looks like those two had a baby...an incredibly violent baby. I’m talking about The Furious, an upcoming Hong Kong action film starring some of the best martial artists in the game right now.

This 2026 movie will follow an everyman (played by Mo Tse) as he teams up with a journalist (played by Joe Taslim) to find his kidnapped daughter, one bloody fight at a time. Though The Furious might be flying under the radar right now, this is one bloody, intense, and promising action flick that looks like a must for fans of The Raid and John Wick.

The Furious Trailer Has Violence, Vengeance, And Some Sick Martial Arts

A few days ago, a friend whose opinion I fully trust in matters like this sent me the first trailer for The Furious, and I’d be lying to you if I said it wasn’t the most excited I’ve been for an action movie in a very long time. Filled with violence, vengeance, and some sick martial arts sequences, Kenji Tanigaki’s latest directorial effort checks all the boxes, and now I’m anxiously awaiting its May 29 release. Let me break it all down…

The trailer is a little more than two minutes in length, and in that short amount of time, we see multiple fight sequences (including two involving hammers in incredibly violent ways), people getting stabbed before having their fingers bitten off, and a hallway fight that is giving me some serious Oldboy vibes. Then there’s the drama of the two protagonists searching for kidnapped loved ones (that sounds like something a certain former assassin would do), a mysterious criminal organization, and a showdown with Yayan Ruhian, who has appeared in both The Raid and John Wick franchises.

I don’t want to sound hyperbolic, but all of this makes me think this is going to be the best action movie of the year, and perhaps in the conversation for best of the decade. We shall see…

I Don’t Know If We’ll Ever Get The Raid 3 Or John Wick 5, But This Helps With The Pain

I know that I should just give up the ghost and accept the fact that The Raid 3 will never happen, but I’m still holding out hope that one day Gareth Evans will finish the franchise once and for all. Something similar can be said about John Wick 5, which has been in development with little progress over the past couple of years. That said, The Furious coming out and checking a lot of the boxes for things I love about both franchises is helping with the pain of uncertainty.

Will this replace these two beloved franchises in my heart? I’m not entirely sure. What I am sure of is that I cannot wait to see Mo Tse and Joe Taslim’s characters go to hell and back to find and save their loved ones, kick all kinds of butt, and give audiences some insane fights. I’m even more sure of it that I’ll be there, ready to go as soon as it comes out in a couple of months.

The John Wick franchise is in a weird place right now. The main protagonist is considered to be dead following the ending of John Wick: Chapter 4, and while Keanu Reeves reprised the character in the Chapter 4 prequel spinoff Ballerina, it remains to be seen if Chapter 5 will actually be made and bring him back to life. However, those of you who are eager for more adventures featuring the younger John are in luck! A new John Wick video game has been announced, and I’m already hoping it will feature one of the franchise’s more underrated characters based on the information revealed.

Saber Interactive, Lionsgate and Chad Stahelski, the director of all the main John Wick movies, are collaborating on this “Untitled John Wick Video Game” that’s in development for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The game will take place long before John accomplished the Impossible Task, which will be covered in an upcoming animated movie. The announcement also mentioned the game will feature “familiar characters fans already know and love, as well as compelling new ones created specifically for this production.” That’s it as far as plot details go, but check out the trailer:

The “Untitled John Wick Video Game” follows in the footsteps of John Wick Chronicles, the virtual reality game released in 2017, and John Wick Hex, the tactical role-playing game released in 2019. This, however, is clearly the franchise’s biggest video game outing yet, and while not made clear in the trailer, it was confirmed in the official announcement that Keanu Reeves has “signed on to reprise his iconic character’s look, voice and more.” You can be sure that many John Wick fans will jump at the chance to control the assassin and eliminate adversaries with his trademark gun-fu style.

For me, though, I’m thinking this video game would be a great way to bring back Marcus, John Wick’s mentor who was played by Willem Dafoe in the first movie. Marcus was killed by Viggo Tarasov when he went back on his deal to kill John, and he wasn’t mentioned in any of the following movies. Since this video game takes place so far back in the franchise’s past, why not show Marcus helping out John and giving him some pointers? We didn’t get to spend much time with Marcus the first time around, so I’d welcome the character being fleshed out.

That’s assuming, of course, that the “Untitled John Wick Video Game” would at least be able to get the rights for Willem Dafoe’s likeness, if not recruit him to vocally reprise Marcus. That’s not an impossible prospect, as he’s previously lent his talents to video games like Spider-Man (the adaptation of the 2002 movie), Finding Nemo and James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing. I’ll definitely keep my eyes peeled for this bit of news amidst the other updates about this John Wick game, which doesn’t have a release date yet.

Meanwhile, it’s looking like the next John Wick franchise movie will be the Caine spinoff movie starring Donnie Yen, which is also the first flick to take place post-Chapter 4. There’s also the Under the High Table TV series that will be set in the same time period, though it hasn’t been announced yet where that will air/stream.

2025 was a pretty incredible year for the theme park industry. Every year brings new attractions, new experiences, and, most importantly, new food to theme parks around the world, but how often do adventure-seekers get something as big as a brand new theme park? Not often enough, to say the least.

Yes, any year-end look at the best new additions to themed entertainment has to include the elephant (or in this case, dragon) in the room, Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe theme park. While it absolutely was the biggest new addition to the to the industry, and arguably the best one, it certainly wasn't the only thing worth celebrating in 2025. But let's present it with its flowers before shifting the spotlight to other debuts.

Epic Universe Is Worthy Of The Hype

Expectations were high when it was officially announced that Universal Orlando Resort was adding a third gate (I won’t call the Volcano Bay Water Park a theme park, and you can’t make me). Expectations were so high that it was probably fairly unlikely that the actual finished product would meet them. And yet it did. Epic Universe is a must-do for any theme park fan.

I got to visit Epic Universe before most people, and I experienced every attraction Epic Universe had to offer. In short, it’s worthy of the hype. It has two of the greatest dark rides ever created in Monsters Unchained and Battle at the Ministry of Magic. It has deeply immersive lands that bring to life multiple popular worlds from your favorite films and video games. But even the non-IP-focused areas are well done and fun to experience. It’s a truly incredible achievement.

The Walt Disney Audio-Animatronic Is Something Special

On the opposite end of the scale, quite literally, we go from a massive theme park to a single animated figure. However, this is no ordinary figure, Walt Disney: A Magical Life brought the founder of the Disney company himself to life in a way that was previously impossible. It was also more than a little controversial.

While the physical design of Walt isn’t perfect, the face mould, it has to be said, doesn’t look exactly like him; it speaks with his voice, and it moves in such a real way that you don’t focus on the parts that don’t work as well. From a technical standpoint alone, it’s a massive leap forward for Disney’s industry-leading audio-animatronics. A second Walt audio-animatronic is slated for Walt Disney World, and if it improves on the original, it will truly be something special.

Fan Fest Nights Was An Incredible New Universal Event

I used to be down on hard ticket events at theme parks. They frequently cost more than a standard ticket, while offering guests limited access to the attractions for fewer total hours. And yet, over the last few years, I have attended several of them, and I have become a believer. Many of them offer experiences you simply can’t have during a normal theme park day that are not to be missed.

This year, I attended Universal Studios Hollywood’s famed Halloween Horror Nights for the first time, but the event that I loved was Fan Fest Nights, which took the proven HHN concept and applied it non non-horror franchises. Being able to stand on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D and actually walk the town square of Hill Valley from Back to the Future was absolutely incredible, and worth the price of any ticket.

The John Wick Experience Puts You In The World Of John Wick

Themed Entertainment is about making you feel like you’re part of your favorite stories. Theme parks largely do an impressive job of this for the short period you’re in a line and on a ride. A ride on Tron: Lightcycle Run can make you feel like you’re on The Grid, but it takes something a bit more immersive to make you feel like you’re John Wick.

The John Wick Experience opened in Las Vegas early in 2025, and it’s one of the experiences I had this year I would absolutely go back and do again. It brought the world of John Wick and the Continental Hotel to life in a way no theme park attraction could have accomplished. You become part of a real story, interacting with other Hotel employees, solving puzzles, while experiencing set pieces derived from the films. You get to fire a gun and even have a drink at the Continental bar. Your room is ready.

Disneyland’s 70th Celebration Is The Greatest Hits (And More) Of Modern Disneyland

It’s hard to believe that Disneyland turned 70 years old in 2025. A birthday that significant requires a big party, and Disneyland is currently throwing one that will last until August 2026. For the most part, this celebration has involved bringing back popular entertainment from years past, like the exquisite Paint the Night parade and the Wonderous Journeys nighttime spectacular.

However, there are some truly great new additions as well. World of Color: Happiness may not be the best version of Disney California Adventure’s nightly spectacular, but the truth is, there has never been a bad World of Color. The Tapestry of Happiness, however, is an absolute highlight. The show is projected on the side of It’s A Small World, and it's a beautiful presentation that runs through the history of Disneyland, including calling out great attractions that are long gone, and celebrating the people who made them. It’s my favorite part of the entire 70th Celebration and absolutely not to be missed.

2025 has been great, but 2026 is setting up to be just as great. Universal will open yet another new theme park, Universal Kids Resort in Texas. Bluey is coming to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World next year. Both resorts will offer brand new versions of Soarin, to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, and Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, to celebrate the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu.

The Fast & Furious franchise is finally getting the roller coaster it deserves, but the best new ride at any theme park next year may actually be found at Dollywood. Thank you, 2025, but I can’t wait to experience what’s next.

Zootopia 2 is a big deal. It’s officially the highest-grossing Hollywood movie of the year, surpassing even its incredibly successful predecessor at the global box office. Considering that level of success, it seems likely Disney is already contemplating a Zootopia 3, and it sounds like the director is already sitting on a brilliant idea that would theoretically involve Keanu Reeves.

It would be an understatement to say Zootopia 2 is full of cameos. Numerous stars who have appeared in previous animated Disney movies make brief voice appearances in the new film, so it would track that cameos would be a big part of a threequel if it were to happen. One fan on Twitter asked Zootopia 2 co-director and Walt Disney Animation CCO Jared Bush what star he would love to get in a future film. Not only did the filmmaker name-drop Reeves, but he also shared an idea he was pitched. Bush said…

Brilliant. No notes. Make this happen right away. Also, I don’t care what anybody says about nepo babies; Bush should hire his kid to work at Walt Disney Animation Studios, because he has some great ideas.

And the best part is that it wouldn’t even be that difficult to work the Baba Llama into Zootopia 3. We already know that the world of Zootopia has organized crime, so Keanu Reeves' proposed character could obviously work for Mr. Big, the artic shrew who runs the criminal world of Tundratown. It would be a hilarious cameo, and I need to see what a John Wick-inspired llama would look like.

The majority of the voice cameos in Zootopia 2 were from stars who had voiced characters in Disney movies before, though certainly not all. Even company CEO Bob Iger lent his voice to the film as a TV weatherman, calling back to his original on-screen job before he began his rise to the top of the House of Mouse. Reeves hasn’t lent his voice to a Disney project before, but he did appear in a Pixar movie, and that’s close enough.

While nothing has been officially announced, it seems all but certain that a Zootopia 3 is at least going to be a topic of conversation. Disney is going to want to make a sequel to its franchise that has two billion-dollar hits under its belt. The only question is, can they come up with a compelling story, and how quickly can they rev up the machine?

Zootopia 2 does include a little sequel tease, which indicates at least some consideration that a third movie could happen, even before the current one became the massive success that it is. While waiting for word on a threequel and a potential Keanu Reeves casting, check out the latest Zootopia film in theaters now and stream the OG flick with a Disney+ subscription.

This week is the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions (IAAPA) Expo, the major trade show for the themed entertainment industry. It’s a chance for attraction designers to show off their newest creations, as well as to hand out awards for the amazing work already done and recognize those who have contributed to the industry.

Dolly Parton is among those being recognized, as she’s joining the IAAPA Hall of Fame, but last night, the Themed Entertainment Association announced the recipients of the 2026 Thea Awards. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Universal Destinations and Experiences and its new park Epic Universe were the big winners, and deservedly so. However, I was stoked to see another attraction that hasn’t made all the headlines also take home a prize.

Epic Universe Just Took Home An Arm Full Of Thea Awards

The TEA gave out 18 different awards for Outstanding Achievement, and Epic Universe alone took home 20% of them. Epic Universe itself won an award as an outstanding theme park, alongside Legoland Shanghai. How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk won the only award for achievement given to a theme park land, and Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry earned an award for ride experience. That's one I fully support, as I think that experience is what makes it the best ride at Epic Universe. Epic Universe’s other E-ticket attraction, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, also won one of four awards given to individual attractions.

The rest of the Outstanding Achievement Awards were given to a variety of theme parks, museums and other themed entertainment locations. Universal’s main rival wasn’t entirely shut out, as the Haunted Mansion Parlor on board the Disney Treasure cruise ship won the award for Outstanding Themed Food & Beverage Experience.

The John Wick Experience In Las Vegas Took Home Its Own Prize

I’ve visited Epic Universe, and I think all its awards are well earned. But one of my other favorite themed entertainment experiences of 2025 also took home an award for Outstanding Attraction, and I love that the John Wick Experience in Las Vegas has been recognized for how great it is.

I was able to check out the John Wick Experience earlier this year, and of all the themed entertainment experiences that I’ve had in 2025, it’s one that I would really like to do again. It’s probably a good thing that I don’t live in Las Vegas because I would probably be spending far too much money on expensive cocktails at the Continental Bar.

The John Wick Experience is found in Las Vegas' Area15-themed entertainment hub, the same place you'll find Universal's new Horror Unleashed experience. It takes guests through an incredible experience using sets, props and actors to really make one feel like they’re living in the world of the John Wick movies. There’s a freedom to role-play for those who are so inclined, or to just go along for the ride for those looking for a show.

Theme parks are great, but there’s a lot more to themed entertainment than just the parks and attractions. I love it when I have a chance to see themed entertainment taken to new places, and when it gets recognized like the John Wick Experience now has been, it helps open the door to even more ideas in the future.

When some bad guys broke into John Wick’s house in the first film, it didn’t end up going particularly well for them. Two years ago, some people broke into Keanu Reeves' house, and while they weren’t met by a killer assassin, they were eventually arrested, and now Reeves is very thankful to have his property back, including a very special John Wick watch.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that back in 2023, Reeves was the victim of a robbery orchestrated by South American thieves who apparently traveled across Southern California and robbed wealthy homes before returning home. He lost several watches, including a special watch from the set of John Wick. Chilean police, alongside the FBI, recently arrested several suspected members of the gang and searched their homes, and in doing so, recovered Reeves’ watches.

The actor was so happy to have this special property back, which was likely both worth a lot of money and very personally important, that he hand-wrote a letter of thanks. The letter begins:

That’s a pretty extensive list of agencies that were involved in this operation. The theft ring was reportedly based in Chile but would travel to the U.S. to rob homes and retail locations before returning home. Celebrities are the target of theft more often than you might think. Houses all over the U.S. were reportedly hit, but Southern California, and the homes of celebrities and sports stars, were apparently a significant focus.

It’s reported that Reeves lost millions in property, and the watches were only part of the loss. Not everything was likely recovered. It was initially reported that a gun from the set of John Wick, one of Keanu Reeves' best movies, was among the items stolen, and a phone with a picture of a gun that was apparently taken during the robbery was found, but there's no word that the gun itself was recovered.

However, Keanu Reeves was clearly happy to get his watches back. The one from the set of John Wick, which included some sort of inscription, was obviously irreplaceable, and the franchise is clearly very important to Keanu Reeves. Reeves ended his note to the authorities, saying:

Keanu Reeves has a reputation for being a pretty nice guy, and it’s things like this that have created that reputation. This could have been an email, but a handwritten note shows a level of care and appreciation that other forms of communication simply wouldn’t convey. We know how happy he is, given the time he took to say thank you.

October is always a time for scary movies, and as such, I spent the bulk of the month watching the best horror movies, and of course, my favorite slasher franchise. The original Halloween movies remain an annual staple for me, as there's just no beating the terror of the unkillable Michael Myers tearing his way through Illinois.

For some reason, however, this year was different. I got to thinking about how badass it would be if there was an action hero like Michael Myers, and how scary that would be for villains. Then I realized that the character already exists, and his name is John Wick. The more I thought about it, there are key similarities between the two, which is wild when I think about it.

Both John Wick And Michael Myers Are Incredibly Hard To Kill

Perhaps the most notable things about Michael Myers and John Wick are just how much punishment they can take and how hard it is to kill them. Readers may jump and point out that John Wick: Chapter 4 finally did kill the legendary assassin, but even the director conceded there's some ambiguity behind whether or not John is actually dead at the movie's end. The fact that the audience can see his gravestone and still be skeptical speaks volumes to his durability.

The same is said for Michael Myers, who in the original movies is seen repeatedly surviving being shot, hit by cars, and literally blown to smithereens. He may be down for a time at the end of each movie, but somehow, he always finds a way back. Of course, that was rectified in the rebooted version in Halloween Ends, but it still took a good deal of work to take him down finally.

They Both Are Adept At Killing Lots Of People

I think what's equally interesting about John Wick and Michael Myers is that they are both adept at killing. Whether we're talking about Myers' most brutal moments, or John Wick's obscenely high kill count, it'd be hard to differentiate which was more inventive with kills during their peak runs. I may even give Wick the edge for brutality, because, man, does he get creative with some of his killings.

They Both Have The Boogeyman Nickname

Michael Myers is often referred to as "The Boogeyman," first coined by Laurie Strode in the original Halloween. He's the pure personification of evil, and for those who don't know his actual name, I could see why that nickname would be used far more often than "The Shape."

John Wick is nicknamed "Baba Yaga," which is a character tied to Slavic folklore, but in more generic terms, is used in Russian to refer to what we would also call "The Boogeyman." Pretty wild, though, understandable that two guys known for being nigh-impossible to kill and have a penchant for murder would have the same nickname.

Now, normally, I'd try to make a case that Michael Myers is somehow John Wick, but the clear difference between the two exists in their morality. John is only out here killing in the name of vengeance, and because his life is on the line. Michael is out here killing solely for the love of the game and doesn't really have a specific goal or target in mind. In that regard, they could never team up or be the same, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy watching both!

Those with access to AMC can check out a bulk of the original Halloween movies right now. As for the John Wick movies, they're currently available to those with a Hulu subscription.

The John Wick franchise isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, as evidenced by Donnie Yen’s Caine spinoff and the anime prequel about the Impossible Task following the release of Ballerina on the 2025 movies schedule in June. However, the future of the main film series remains uncertain, despite Keanu Reeves’ character seemingly dying at the end of Chapter 4. In April, Lionsgate announced that John Wick: Chapter 5 is in development, but then in June, director Chad Stahelski indicated it’s not a sure thing yet.

I’m not here to talk about whether or not Chapter 5 should happen for narrative reasons. Instead, after watching the documentary Wick is Pain, which chronicles the making of the four John Wick movies, I’d rather focus on how Keanu Reeves makes a good point about the title assassin moving forward. Specifically, even by action movie standards, this franchise asks a lot of the actor physically.

Wick Is Pain Delves Into How Physically Demanding Playing John Wick Is

Now obviously an action movie star needs to be in good physical condition, and anyone who’s seen a John Wick movie could surmise that Keanu Reeves walked away with some bruises and scrapes. Still, Wick is Pain does a good job of laying out the physical toll that playing the title assassin has taken.

To name some examples, Jeremy Marinas, who did stunts on Chapter 2 and was Chapter 4’s stunt coordinator, said that he’s seen Reeves cough for 10 minutes straight or go to throw up in the bathroom during training. He also mentioned that Reeves is limping for real when John is limping because “his knee doesn’t work, his right shoulder doesn’t work, and his neck has a fusion.” Jackson Spidell, Reeves’ stunt double, said that when we “see Reeves in pain on screen, it’s probably real.” Producer Basil Iwanyk said that Chad Stahelski pushing Reeves past his comfort zone to play John Wick was “kind of healthy” for the first two movies, but was “almost barbaric” on the next two.

And yet, Keanu Reeves put his body through the wringer willingly, and because Chad Stahelski has worked with him for so long, he knows what the actor can handle physically and mentally. And yet, at the end of Wick is Pain, Reeves voiced this thought:

The title Wick is Pain even comes from a real-life interaction between Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski on the John Wick: Chapter 3 set. Reeves had a swollen knee while they were shooting the antique store fight scene, and when he asked Stahelski how he was doing, the director just looked him over and answered “Wick is pain.” Is that pain really worth him enduring now that he’s in his 60s?

Keanu Reeves Has Shared Concerns Before About Continuing To Play John Wick

This documentary isn’t the first time that Keanu Reeves has said he’s concerned about what continuing to play John Wick could do to his body. Last December, he shared that he doesn’t think his knees could handle doing John Wick: Chapter 5. Granted, it was reported in July that he’s receiving a sweet payday for Chapter 5, but he’s also allegedly been “perfectly honest about what he’s willing and not willing to do stunt-wise” given that he’s “put his body through hell for these movies.”

Even putting aside my opinion that John Wick: Chapter 4 ended the film series on a nearly-perfect note, I don’t think it’s a good idea to move forward with another movie if there’s added risk of doing permanent harm to Reeves’ body. We should consider ourselves fortunate he agreed to co-star with Ana de Armas in Ballerina, allowing us to spend sometime with the character between the events of Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. Keanu Reeves went through a lot to make these John Wick movies, and if his body is telling him he can’t handle the same kind of beatings going forward, maybe he should listen to it.

Whether you agree with me on this subject or not, every John Wick fan reading should watch Wick is Pain if they haven’t already. The documentary is only available to rent or purchase as of this writing, but it’s well worth the price. After that, you can revisit the John Wick movies with your Hulu subscription.

It’s a big deal when actors do their own stunts and film their own action scenes. It adds a level of realism when you can tell the character is really the one doing the incredible thing. We love to see Tom Cruise do wild stunts and Keanu Reeves perform amazing action sequences. That said, movie productions and insurance companies don’t always love it because actors can get hurt doing that stuff.

Keanu Reeves recently proved that actors can get hurt anytime doing almost anything. The guy who has made four John Wick movies and thrown himself down a set of stairs without major injury recently spoke to Extra about the time he broke his knee making his new movie, Good Fortune just because he slipped. Reeves explained…

Good Fortune is a comedy that sees Keanu Reeves play an angel who attempts to show a down-on-his-luck guy, played by Aziz Ansari, that wealth won’t solve his problems by swapping his life with that of a successful man played by Seth Rogen. Things don’t go entirely to the angel’s plan.

Falling on your knee so hard that it cracks sounds like an incredibly unpleasant thing to have to experience. It also sounds worse than anything that we know happened on the set of the John Wick movies. The good news is that while the injury did send the crew into panic mode, it apparently didn’t delay the movie, as Reeves was shooting the next scene on schedule. Aziz Ansari said…

While the knee injury may not have been that big a deal at the time, it’s possible that it could have an impact on Keanu’s future in action movies. While we know John Wick 5 is in development, the actor has specifically stated that his knees may not be in a state to handle another movie. At 61 years old, Reeves is certainly getting older. It's been reported that one thing Reeves wants from any potential John Wick 5 is for the action to better reflect his age. Maybe add to that, no scenes near water. If you slip and fall, you can really hurt yourself!

The movies have always had a way of making the life of an outlaw look fun. The secret is as easy as defying tradition by making the “bad guy” the protagonist of the story, or even taking innocents out of the equation completely. These classic films will force you to reconsider your moral standards.

The Godfather (1972)

In addition to being one of the best films about the "family business," Francis Ford Coppola's Best Picture Oscar-winning adaptation of Mario Puzo's The Godfather is a genuine family story all the way to its core, albeit a violent one. It follows Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), who is motivated by the attempted murder of his mob boss father, Don Vito (Marlon Brando), to take matters into his own hands, leading him down a path to become one of the most feared leaders in the world of organized crime.

Psycho (1960)

The true antagonist of Alfred Hitchcock's seminal horror movie classic, Psycho, is unquestionably Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates. However, what leads Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) to make a fateful stop at the Bates Motel is her decision to go on the run with stolen money.

The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

The title character of The Talented Mr. Ripley, Anthony Minghella's acclaimed adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel, is a conniving con artist. However, much like most of the people Matt Damon's Tom Ripley encounters, it is hard not to fall for his charms.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

There really are not any "good guys" in Pulp Fiction, or in most of Quentin Tarantino's movies, for that matter. However, there are certainly some characters in the dazzling crime thriller that audiences have more affection for than others, especially Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson), who have to be the two most down-to-earth mob hitmen in pop culture history.

Batman Begins (2005)

I have never admired a character in my life more than DC Comics' Dark Knight, but even I will be the first to call out Bruce Wayne for who he really is: a vigilante, which makes his crusade for justice in Gotham illegal. One of the few live-action Batman movies to address this moral gray area is Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, in which James Gordon (Gary Oldman) is the only cop willing to support the Caped Crusader (played by Christian Bale), but even he has his doubts.

Goodfellas (1990)

The flashbacks to Henry Hill's youth at the beginning of Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas establish a life in the mafia as a childhood aspiration for him. Thus, you almost cannot help but feel proud of Ray Liotta's character as he rises up in the ranks of the criminal underworld and disappointed when the law knocks him down a peg.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Director Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon is a crime thriller based on an incredible true story starring Al Pacino as an amateur crook whose simple bank robbery plans evolve into a challenging hostage situation. Just like John Wojtowicz, the real person who inspired the film's main character, Sonny Wortzik, his only reason for committing the crime is to afford his lover's transgender operation, which I can empathize with.

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Steven Spielberg's acclaimed 2000s-era movie, Catch Me If You Can, is based on the alleged true story of Frank Abagnale Jr., who passed himself off as an expert in multiple fields while living off fraudulent checks while he was barely beyond his teenage years. The casting of Leonardo DiCaprio as the clever crook immediately earns our sympathies, putting Tom Hanks in the rare position of playing the default antagonist as Carl Hanratty, an FBI agent trailing Frank.

Heat (1995)

Michael Mann's powerful thriller, Heat, is defined by its moral ambiguity, portraying the story of a group of professional bank robbers tailed by the LAPD from both sides of the law. By the end, it is hard not to feel bad for expert thief Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) when he is finally cornered by Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino).

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

George Clooney's recently released convict Daniel Ocean rounds up a gang of 10 other professionals to rob three Las Vegas casinos at once in director Steven Soderbergh's remake of Ocean's Eleven. The acclaimed heist flick makes it easy for the audience to side with these thieves, not just by making them all funny and likable, but also by making their target, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), quite despicable.

Inception (2010)

Amid its ingenious concept (taking place in a world where dreams can be experienced on demand with revolutionary technology) and breathtaking visuals, it is often easy to forget that Christopher Nolan's Inception is, essentially, a heist movie. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his crew specialize in stealing valuable information from unsuspecting targets directly from their minds (or planting an idea in their heads) by kidnapping them and infiltrating their subconscious, which is a terrifying thought.

Escape From New York (1981)

When we first meet war veteran Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) in John Carpenter's Escape from New York, he has already been sentenced to the penal colony that used to be Manhattan for robbing the Bank of the Federal Reserve. This convinces the United States Police Force that he is the perfect choice to infiltrate the urban dystopian nightmare to rescue the president (played by Donald Pleasence) in exchange for his freedom.

Nightcrawler (2014)

I once saw an interview with Jake Gyllenhaal and Nightcrawler's writer and director, Dan Gilroy, in which they describe the film as "a success story." While Gyllenhaal's aspiring independent news videographer, Louis Bloom, is not afraid to put his ethics on the back burner and flat out break the law to get the juiciest and bloodiest scoops possible, I cannot help but agree.

John Wick (2014)

The world seems to love professional assassins (fictional ones, at least), and few are more lovable than Keanu Reeves' title "hero" from the revenge movie favorite, John Wick, and its sequels. Of course, who wouldn't empathize with a recently widowed man whose new dog was murdered in cold blood by a crew of young punks who also stole his car?

Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)

One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most unexpected hits is the story of a group of unlikely heroes who come to be known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. James Gunn's hilarious, heartfelt, and action-packed breath of fresh air stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper as a group of cosmic outlaws who flee prison together and manage to redeem themselves by risking their lives to take down an oppressive tyrant (played by Lee Pace).

The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)

Based on the memoir by Jordan Belfort, director Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street should be seen as nothing more than a cautionary tale. However, Leonardo DiCaprio's charming, Oscar-nominated performance as the stockbroker-turned-motivational speaker almost makes you want to see him succeed despite his despicable habits and corrupt aspirations.

Kill Bill (2003-2004)

In Quentin Tarantino's two-part action saga, Kill Bill, Uma Thurman's The Bride wanted to put her reputation as the deadliest woman in the world behind her when she got pregnant and decided to settle down. Unfortunately, her former employer, Bill (David Carradine), and colleagues from the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad put her in a coma and, seemingly, murdered her unborn daughter, which makes her "roaring rampage of revenge" feel justified.

Looper (2012)

Rian Johnson's inventive, sci-fi twist on the film noir movie genre, Looper, takes place in the future, but still mere decades before time travel has been invented. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Joe, who is hired to kill and dispose of people sent back to his time by the mob, but his career trajectory changes when his latest target turns out to be his older self (played by Bruce Willis).

Joker (2019)

It might be a bit of a stretch to call Todd Phillips' Joker a film that coerces you into rooting for its unlawful protagonist, because I have absolutely no sympathy for any of the terrifying acts that Arthur Fleck commits. Then again, with much credit to Joaquin Phoenix's devastating, Oscar-winning performance, it is hard not to feel bad for the man, given his harsh life circumstances and struggles with mental health, even if he is destined to cause Gotham City a lot of pain someday.

Don't Breathe (2016)

At the start of Fede Alvarez's intense thriller Don't Breathe, you are not sure who to root for, as our protagonists (played by Jane Levy, Dylan Minette, and Daniel Zovatto) are seen breaking into the home of a non-seeing war veteran (played by Stephen Lang), intending to steal from him. However, it becomes easy to fear for these thieves when the owner of the house begins to violently retaliate and more terrifying secrets about him come to light.

Road To Perdition (2002)

Director Sam Mendes' adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel, Road to Perdition, stars Tom Hanks as a mob enforcer who must protect his young son (played by Tyler Hoechlin) after he witnesses a murder in 1930s Illinois.

Ant-Man (2015)

Instead of the original Ant-Man, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), the Marvel Cinematic Universe made formerly incarcerated felon Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) the star of its adaptation of the Marvel comic. After his criminal record costs him his Baskin-Robbins job, he is drawn back into crime and steals what turns out to be a special shrink suit, which is how he gets roped into the most important burglary of his life by Dr. Pym.

Sin City (2005)

I like to think of Det. John Hartigan (Bruce Willis) is the main hero of Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's Sin City, but Mickey Rourke nearly steals the show in a segment called "The Hard Goodbye." The story follows Marv, an ex-convict who returns to his violent ways to duke out some vigilante justice and avenge the murder of a woman who suddenly died after spending a night with him.

Dead Presidents (1995)

Dead Presidents is a must-watch '90s movie centered on a Black character, namely Larenz Tate as Anthony Curtis, who is a Vietnam vet forced to turn to crime to support his family.

Public Enemies (2010)

Casting Johnny Depp, who was one of the most bankable and beloved movie stars in Hollywood in the late 2000s, as John Dillinger in Michael Mann's Public Enemies was a stroke of genius to get the audience immediately on the side of the notorious bank robber.

Hard Candy (2005)

In Hard Candy, Elliot Page plays a teenager named Hayley who is seemingly lured into a trap by a child predator named Jeff (Patrick Wilson). However, we, and Jeff, come to discover that he is really Hayley's prey when he is subjected to the teenager's torturous acts.

Dom Hemingway (2013)

Jude Law stars in writer and director Richard Shepard's Dom Hemingway in the title role of a former safecracker who is released from a years-long prison sentence and returns to London looking to collect what he believes he is owed.

Cruella (2021)

Who knew that Disney could make audiences empathize with an attempted puppy murderer? Indeed, they achieve this with Cruella by casting Academy Award winner Emma Stone in the title role, who is portrayed as a tragic figure forced to become a pickpocket as a child after her mother's sudden murder.

Take The Money And Run (1969)

Co-writer and director Woody Allen stars in the mockumentary Take the Money and Run as Virgil Starkwell, who is so inept, yet so affable, that you cannot help but hope to see him make a killing as a bank robber.

Trap (2024)

Josh Hartnett leads M. Night Shyamalan's Trap as Cooper, a father who takes his teenage daughter to a concert, which he discovers is being used as an elaborate plan to catch a notorious serial killer. This turns out to be a great concern for Cooper because this criminal, known as "The Butcher," is none other than him.

Burglar (1987)

Whoopi Goldberg stars in Burglar as Bernice, a non-violent thief who wrongfully becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation when her latest target, the ex-husband of a dentist who just wants her jewelry back, suddenly turns up dead.

Now You See Me (2013)

The main characters of Now You See Me (played by Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco) are a team of magicians who use their skills in illusion to pull off heists and pass off their loot to people in need, like Robin Hood with a few extra tricks up their sleeves.

While a great deal of the focus of Netflix and all the other streaming services is on producing new original content, my favorite thing about them has always been that they act as libraries for older movies, allowing me to watch my favorite movies for the 100th time, or allowing me to easily catch movies i missed for the first time.

This week, I noticed that Wanted, a 2008 action movie starring James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie, was now available with my Netflix subscription. I remember wanting to see the movie when it originally came out, but for whatever reason, that never happened. I never got around to actually watching, hell, I only watched Jaws for the first time recently, so I took the opportunity to do so, and discovered that it’s a pretty fun action flick, with a remarkably stacked cast. Although part of the reason I loved it may have been all the ways it reminded me of my favorite modern action franchise.

Wanted Gave Me Serious John Wick Vibes

One of my concerns sitting down to watch Wanted was that, in the more than a decade since it was released, the action, as cutting edge as it may have been at the time, may have become dated. These days, I compare basically any movie action sequence to the best of the John Wick franchise, and even today, most movies come up short by that metric.

Wanted’s action isn’t as good as the best of John Wick. It’s not even on par with middle-of-the-road John Wick. However, what surprised me was how much Wanted felt like almost a prototype John Wick, as many of the details of the older film would find their way into my favorite franchise. These connections are almost certainly unintentional. Neither Chad Stahelski nor David Leitch worked on Wanted as stunt performers, but that makes the connections all the more intriguing.

It Has A Secret Society Of Assassins

The most obvious connection between the two is that both Wanted and John Wick have stories built around secret societies of professional assassins. Wanted has The Fraternity, while John Wick’s organization is called the High Table. The Fraternity is specifically referenced as being 1,000 years old. The exact age of the High Table is unclear, but it’s been indicated to be even older.

The High Table is actually one of my favorite parts of the entire John Wick franchise. I love the way the movies have built it up over time, the way it has its own currency and even its own hotels. The world-building of Wanted isn’t nearly on that level. This is likely due to the fact that the original comic book source material sees the group as actual supervillains, so the assassin element is grafted on. Perhaps if Wanted had ever received the attempted sequels, things could have been expanded upon in a way to make The Fraternity as intriguing as the High Table.

Wanted Has Its Version Of The Bowery King

John Wick has some pretty eccentric characters throughout the franchise, but none are quite as much fun as The Bowery King. Lawrence Fishburne’s character is the leader of a group under the High Table who often play the parts of the area’s homeless population, leading to them looking less clean-cut than John Wick and others. The Bowery King uses pigeons as a way to gather and send information to his people.

If the Bowery King’s pigeons are “rats with wings," then he’s not that different from The Exterminator, a member of the Fraternity who has an affinity for actual rats. It’s not hard to imagine that in the John Wick universe, The Exterminator would be one of the Bowery King’s soldiers. Although I’m not sure the Bowery King would have sacrificed his pigeons in the way that Wanted kills a lot of rats.

It’s Even Got Common

One of the best things Wanted has going for it is its incredible cast. It’s got James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie, and Morgan Freeman in major roles. Terrance Stamp is there in a solid supporting role, and a very young Chris Pratt is there in a pre-Parks & Recreation appearance. There’s even an actor who would go on to be a big part of John Wick: Chapter 2.

Years before Common would appear in the first John Wick sequel as Cassian, he appeared in Wanted as a member of The Fraternity, simply called The Gunsmith. His role in Wanted is much smaller, but it’s not exactly hard to see that Cassian and The Gunsmith have a lot in… well, common.

The Final Action Sequence Is Very John Wick

At the end of the day, both John Wick and Wanted are movies focused on building great action sequences. That said, they come at them very differently. John Wick is all about practical stunt choreography, and while Wanted certainly has plenty of that, it’s equally concerned with its cool CGI bullet firing sequences, which are, without question, still pretty cool.

There isn’t necessarily an action sequence in Wanted I would compare favorably to anything in John Wick, although the big finale sequence, which sees James McAvoy’s character jump through a window and start mowing down everybody he sees, comes close. The sequence isn’t filmed in the same way a John Wick fight scene would be, but the concept, seeing the hero mowing down countless bad guys, picking up fresh guns along the way, and firing through the dead skull of a previous victim, is absolutely something we could see in the next John Wick movie, whenever it happens.

In all honesty, I wish I had seen Wanted back in 2008, as I probably would have enjoyed it more. In the years since, action cinema has been raised to a level that makes the movie feel like a product of its time. Still, Wanted was a step on the path that brought us to a world where the John Wick franchise exists, and did its part to inspire, however unintentionally, the best action movie franchise ever.

As recently as 2020, Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov expressed interest in still making the sequel. Perhaps if it ever happens, it can take some inspiration from John Wick.

It’s been a month since Ballerina was released onto the 2025 movies schedule, and while I had a good time watching the John Wick spinoff like many film critics did, it never quite reaches the heights of the main film series. One of the reasons for that is because, as my colleague Hugh Scott pointed out, it screws up the John Wick timeline in a major way. Thankfully, a deleted Ballerina scene has resolved this plot issue, though now a new question has taken its place in my head.

Before I get into those questions, though, watch the deleted scene for yourself below, courtesy of IGN:

This Deleted Scene Clears Up John Wick’s Role In Ballerina's Second Half

Ballerina primarily takes place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 and several months afterwards, but ahead of John Wick: Chapter 4. We’re reminded in the spinoff how in Chapter 3, Keanu Reeves’ character had his “ticket punched” by Anjelica Huston’s Director, head of the Ruska Roma. Meaning, in exchange for safe passage to Casablanca, John’s ties would be forever severed from the crime syndicate that raised him and Ana de Armas’ Eve Macarro. That’s why it was strange when John resurfaced in the second half of Ballerina to kill Eve on behalf of The Director, as he wasn’t supposed to be affiliated with her anymore.

Well, we have our answer for why this happened: there was a new deal in place. This deleted scene shows John, now missing his ring finger, resting on some kind of transport (I’m guessing a ship) when he gets a call from The Director. She agreed to arrange for him to get where he needs to go in exchange for a favor, and now she’s calling in that favor: kill Eve Macarro to appease Gabriel Byrne’s Chancellor and prevent a war between the Ruska Roma and the Cult. So that explains why John was so willing to help The Director out during the spinoff: he was merely honoring his side of this agreement.

Where Was John Wick Traveling To?

While I am curious why John Wick sought out The Director for help given how things ended between them in Chapter 3 (don’t forget she got her hands stabbed by Zero for giving John passage), that’s not the question on my mind after watching this deleted Ballerina scene. I’m more curious about his destination aboard that transport. Where was John going, and why was it necessary considering the condition he was in?

Remember that at the end of John Wick: Chapter 3, Ian McShane’s Winston shot John on the New York Continental’s rooftop, and the skilled assassin ended up falling off the building. Winston did this so as a way to publicly declare his allegiance to the High Table and secretly make sure John wasn’t actually killed (he only shot at the bulletproof parts of the character’s suit). Nevertheless, between that and all the other injuries he sustained in Chapter 3, John was in rough shape and only survived because he was taken to The Bowery King’s underground hideout.

At the beginning of John Wick: Chapter 4, it seems as though John Wick had been recuperating in New York City the entire time since Chapter 3 ended, but Ballerina showed us he was well enough to carry out at least one mission across the globe. Or maybe it was two, as apparently John needed to get somewhere else before The Director interrupted his journey? Where was it, and what did it have to do with his recuperation or vendetta against the High Table?

Maybe another deleted Ballerina scene will answer this question, but I’ll be ok if it doesn’t. I’m just glad the major plot issue I was thinking about after seeing Ballerina in a theater has finally been resolved. If only this scene had actually been included in the movie.

In one of the great “what ifs” of movie soundtrack history, Eddie Van Halen almost appeared on the soundtrack for a movie in the John Wick franchise, which you can watch with a Peacock Subscription. According to the franchise’s chief composer, Tyler Bates, the two discussed the opportunity shortly before the legendary guitarist's death in 2020. As a huge fan of both Van Halen and the John Wick movies, this makes me doubly sad. My imagination is running wild.

Tyler Bates And Eddie Van Halen Became Good Friends

Bates, in an interview with Screenrant, explained that toward the end of Van Halen’s life, the two musicians spoke often, and eventually Van Halen went by Bates’ house for a hang session, and to possibly discuss adding Van Halen to the soundtrack, saying,

The two spoke on the phone a few times, and at one point, Bates made another plea to coax Van Halen to make a contribution,

Sadly, as Bates then pointed out, that was the end of the discussions about Van Halen playing on the soundtrack, as he stated,

It’s such a tantalizing idea, one of the greatest guitar players ever playing on a John Wick soundtrack, and it's a real shame it never happened, but for completely understandable reasons.

It Likely Would Have Been One Of Eddie Van Halen’s Final Recordings

Though Bates is unclear which soundtrack it would have been on, saying it would have been for either Chapter 2 or Chapter 3 – Parabellum, either way, it likely would have been one of the musical legend's final recordings. The last Van Halen album was released in 2012, the band’s last tour ended in 2015, and the last known recording of the guitarist, called simply “Unfinished,” was released with the audiobook of Alex Van Halen's (Eddie’s brother) autobiography, in 2024, but when it was recorded is unknown.

From the sound of it, these conversations were going on around the release of the second and third movies of the mind-blowing franchise, placing it sometime between 2017 and 2019. Van Halen spent the last few years of his life battling cancer and other health problems prior to dying in October ‘20 from a stroke. It was a death that devastated the rock world, including me as a fan of the band.

While we patiently wait for more news on the upcoming John Wick 5, we can dream about what nearly was had Eddie Van Halen left us all with one more magical moment.

Fans of The World of John Wick are eating well right now. Following the recent release of Ballerina, we’re getting at least two more spinoff projects, in the Donnie Yen-led Caine and an animated prequel from the director of Ultraman: Rising. However, the biggest news for any fan is going to be that John Wick: Chapter 5 is in development. Although the movie is far from a sure thing at this point.

It’s been confirmed that a new chapter in the John Wick franchise starring Keanu Reeves is very much something the studio wants to make. But at this point, a few things are standing in the way. The most important is the script, as franchise leader Chad Stahelski has said he’s not certain he can “crack” the reason for such a movie to exist. But there is another possible hurdle, the fact that Keanu Reeves is getting older. An unnamed source recently told In Touch Weekly that Reeves will only do the movie if the action is more geared toward his age. The source claimed…

While the source claims Keanu Reeves is still more than happy to push the limits of what he’s capable of physically, it’s simply that where that limit is today isn’t where it was back when he made the first John Wick movie over a decade ago. As such, Reeves will need a script that takes this into account.

At this point, very little is known about John Wick: Chapter 5 and what it may entail. All we know is that the story that came to a close with John Wick: Chapter 4 will remain over, and the new film will start some sort of brand new story, while also dealing with Wick’s apparent death at the end of the last movie. It seems that Reeves’concerns are being discussed as part of putting the script together. The source continued…

Fans of John Wick probably don’t need to worry too much. Reeves is still in remarkable shape for 60 years old, so he’s likely still capable of plenty of the action that we’ve seen in the franchise. It simply means that action sequences will need to be devised in a way to focus on what he can do, and not on what he can’t. We probably won’t see John Wick get thrown down the stairs multiple times in the next film.

One thing that likely won’t be an issue? The money. Keanu’s John Wick deal reportedly means that he gets paid very well for the sequels, after taking a lower salary for the first movie. And considering each ensuing John Wick film has made more money than the one before, expectations are that paying Reeves will be worth it. According to the source…

Of course, none of this matters until we actually have a script for John Wick: Chapter 5. Hopefully, that isn’t too far away.

I’m a huge fan of the John Wick franchise, and while I was a little frustrated with the timeline issues in Ballerina, I thought it was a solid, though not spectacular, movie. However, the spinoff’s disappointing box office has me concerned that the franchise can only succeed if Keanu Reeves is the star, and I hope that’s not the case.

Ballerina Has Big Stars, But Not Big Returns

Ana de Armas certainly has the star power to carry a movie, and the rest of the Ballerina cast, including Gabriel Byrne, Norman Reedus, Anjelica Houston, Ian McShane, and the late Lance Reddick, bring plenty of glitz and glamour to the film as well. Then, of course, there is the star of the franchise, Keanu Reeves. Reeves was originally only announced as a cameo in Ballerina, but he ended up with a bigger role.

That star power didn’t translate to box office power, though. According to the latest numbers from Box Office Mojo, Ballerina has brought in just under $92 million worldwide. That is on a reported budget of $90 million. There is still time for the movie to make a little more money in theaters, but I think it’s safe to say that wherever the final numbers land, it will be underwhelming. That has me worried about the future of the franchise, especially in projects that don’t include Reeves, like the planned spinoff starring Donnie Yen as his character, Caine.

Can The World Of John Wick Succeed Without John Wick?

Director Chad Stahelski and writer Derek Kolstad (along with writer Shay Hatten) have created an incredible world in the John Wick movies. They’ve managed to do the seemingly impossible these days in Hollywood: build a new franchise without relying on existing I.P. The four films have all been successful with fans and critics alike, and while Ballerina has been generally praised by reviewers and audiences who have seen it, it seems not enough people are excited to see a movie that isn’t focused on John Wick himself.

This leads to the natural question: as popular as the character is, and as great as all the movies have been, including Ballerina, can this franchise succeed without the titular character? It’s a question I can’t answer yet, but if it's going to, the box office returns will have to be better.

The Future, With And Without Keanu Reeves

John Wick 5 is on the way, and it’s a safe bet that it will be massively popular, just as the first four have been. Reeves and Stahelski will be back, and it's hard to imagine it won’t be as good – and as successful – as the first four. Stahlelski is also excited about the Caine spinoff, which won’t feature Reeves.

On the flip side, however, is the undercurrent of both Ballerina’s less-than-stellar box office numbers and the spinoff prequel show, The Continental, that didn’t set the world on fire, either. The show, starring Mel Gibson and Colin Woodell, which you can stream on Peacock, got mixed reviews, and while it continued to build the world, it didn’t bring a whole lot more to the table.

So, that leaves us where we are today. We know the future of the John Wick franchise is bright when Reeves’ now-iconic character is the focus, but it has me wondering if it can be without him. I sure hope so, because I really want more of the this world in my life.

I’ve been getting back into anime in recent years, from making my way through the epic pirate saga known as One Piece after enjoying Netflix’s live-action adaptation, to joining the fanbase for the wonderfully wacky Dan Da Dan, which premieres its second season on the 2025 TV schedule next month. It was especially great to check out Terminator Zero last year, given my passion for the sci-fi franchise… well, the first two movies, anyway. The latest anime that has my attention, however, is called Sakamoto Days, and I love the show because it’s like if someone made a John Wick-like comfort watch.

What Sakamoto Days Is About

Sakamoto Days, based off the same-named manga, premiered back in January. While I only just started making my way through the episodes with my Netflix subscription, I knew months back that I was eventually going to check it out based on the premise. This anime follows Taro Sakamoto, who was once the world’s great assassin. However, upon falling in love with a woman named Aoi, Sakamoto agreed to her demands that he stop being a hitman and give up killing.

They married, had a daughter named Hana and now run a convenience store in Tokyo. Although Sakamoto gains a lot of weight because of his inactivity, he’s still incredibly powerful. Which is good because when the series starts, all kinds of hitmen descend upon the store to collect the bounty on his head after his location was finally discovered

Although Sakamoto rarely needs help with dispatching enemies, all of which is done non-lethally, it’s nonetheless welcome when he gains the support of three young former criminals: Shin Akasura, a clairvoyant who used to be Sakamoto’s protege; Liu Xiaotang, the orphaned daughter of a crime boss; and Heisuke Mashimo, an amusingly gullible sniper. These three balance their time working at the store and fending off the never-ending wave of killers desperate to eliminate Mr. Sakamoto, and they’re welcomed into the man’s family.

How Sakamoto Days Puts A Pleasant Twist On John Wick

In the John Wick franchise, Keanu Reeves’ title character retired from being an assassin when he met his wife Helen, though he was only able to do so after carrying out the Impossible Task for Viggo Tarasov (which will be covered in the upcoming anime prequel movie). Sadly, Helen died of cancer a few years later, and when the puppy she left him was killed by Tarasov’s son, he reentered the criminal underworld to seek revenge. Doesn’t Sakamoto Days sound like what would have happened if John Wick’s life had gone in a happier direction?

To be sure, the violence in Sakamoto Days is fantastical, comparable to the super-powered action one would find in an R-rated Marvel or DC Comics story. John Wick’s violence is also absurd, but it’s still based in hyper-realism. And like so many shōnen manga/anime, there are a lot of cartoonish gags mixed in.

However, it’s not the action that makes Sakamoto Days stand out most to me, even though I do enjoy watching it. It’s how the show mixes that action with the comforting vibe I mentioned earlier. I get a kick out of watching Mr. Sakamoto and his cohorts just doing everyday activities, from running errands to relaxing at a bathhouse, and dealing with the hitmen who interfere along the way. It’s the kind of slice of life storytelling we don’t get in the John Wick franchise, and it’s all the more hilarious how Mr. Sakamoto easily shrugs off most of the assailants who attack him.

I’m glad I carved out time to watch Sakamoto Days, and I’m glad the next batch of episodes are coming out next month since Part 1 ended on a cliffhanger. If you’re a John Wick fan like me who’s interested in seeing that kind of character placed in a more heartwarming setting, this anime is worth checking out.

In the new John Wick spinoff Ballerina, the presence of Keanu Reeves feels like a security blanket of sorts. Without a guarantee that audiences would buy into a new movie within the canon following a new protagonist, the filmmaker/studio included plenty of the legendary Baba Yaga to make the project appear more connected to the continuity/enticing. But what does that potentially say about the franchise as a whole as it continues to expand with a variety of projects? It's an interesting conundrum for John Wick series director/Ballerina producer Chad Stahelski that the filmmaker recently addressed

The question of whether or not the John Wick canon can expand without leaning directly on the star power power of Keanu Reeves is one that was posed directly to Stahelski during a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, and the short answer to the matter is "yes" (and it's apparently something he has discussed with the actor personally). That being said, he also recognizes that there is a need to not spread the material too thin with too much too fast. Said the Ballerina producer,

So what does that mean in his eyes? Chad Stahelski constructed a metaphor by imagining a multi-series Alice In Wonderland franchise. He continued,

As of right now, with Ballerina now playing in theaters, there are three projects that have been lined up for the future of the John Wick franchise:

• A Caine Spinoff: A live-action from John Wick: Chapter 4 centered around the blind assassin played by Donnie Yen (Yen is also attached to direct).
• John Wick's Impossible Task Prequel: An animated movie that will tell the story of how John Wick managed to win his freedom from the High Council so that he could live a life of peace with his wife, Helen
• John Wick: Chapter 5: While recent comments from Chad Stahelski have suggested that the sequel isn't guaranteed, another sequel centered around the world's most dangerous assassin following the end of John Wick: Chapter 4 is in development.

From that list, the Caine project will presumably be the big test for the strength of the John Wick franchise – assuming that the story doesn't find a way to incorporate some kind of Keanu Reeves appearance. It will be fascinating to see how things develop following the release of Ballerina, and we here at CinemaBlend will continue to keep you apprised of the latest developments within the canon.

Any action movie fans with a Netflix subscription who have not given the platform’s collection of Bollywood movies a try do not know what they are missing. Indian cinema is home to some of the genre’s most thrilling, but criminally overlooked in the U.S., releases, such as the Hindi-language 2025 movie, Deva.

I recently gave this reimagining of director Rosshan Andrrews’ own 2013 drama, Mumbai Police, a try without knowing what to expect. It ended up calling to mind an unlikely combination of films that I adore: the John Wick franchise and one of the best movies of the 2000s, Memento. If you consider yourself a fan of either, then I would say Deva is perfect for you, but there are even more reasons to check out one of the best action movies you likely have not seen.

Deva's Title Hero Is A Total Badass

Shahid Kapoor – star of Amazon Prime’s Farzi, a TV show fans of The Gentlemen would like – leads the cast of Deva as Dev Ambre, a detective whose intelligence is only outweighed by his rebelliousness. He is a cop who plays loose with the rules like he’s the Dirty Harry of Mumbai, but if the hero of one of Clint Eastwood’s best movies also had killer dance moves, which he demonstrates in a surprisingly engaging musical sequence early on in the film.

However, when it comes to taking on crime, I would more readily compare his tactics to those of Keanu Reeves’ stoic assassin from the John Wick movies – the best action movie franchise of all time, if you ask me. The fight choreography is beautiful – even more “balletic” than the new John Wick spin-off, Ballerina – but also brutal enough to establish Dev as a person few would dare to mess with. Even when his recklessness begins to cross a line, his charisma wins you over, but he really began to earn my sympathies when he suffered his accident.

Dev's Amnesia Thickens The Plot

Deva opens with Dev getting into a motorcycle accident and later waking up with no memory of who he is. To make matters worse, just a moment before the incident, he told his superior, Farhan Khan (Pravessh Rana, who, I must mention, looks exactly Narcos star Wagner Moura), that he solved the murder of their friend and colleague, Rohan D'Silva (Pavail Gulati), which he now must reinvestigate while keeping his amnesia a secret.

The story is also told in a non-linear structure, jumping back and forth between the life of Dev’s pre-amnesiac self, labeled “Dev A” (hence the title), and his new self, called “Dev B,” which reminded me quite a bit of 2000’s Memento. Now, I am not going to try and convince you that Deva is a revolutionary, thought-provoking masterpiece like that acclaimed Christopher Nolan film is, but it is a fun mystery with a protagonist whose memory complicates a deeply personal mission.

Deva Ends With A Mind-Blowing Twist

Also like Memento, the ending of Deva boasts a pretty shocking plot twist. In fact, I genuinely never once saw the final reveal of who killed Rohan coming.

Now, to be fair, it is not the most unique twist I have ever seen, but the story did an impressive job at preventing me from even remotely suspecting the final outcome as a possibility up until the moment it shows its hand, which I could not help but applaud the film for. However, you are just going to have to stream Deva on Netflix to find out what happens yourself.

You know, coincidentally, the first Indian film I ever watched was 2005’s Ghajini, which is a revenge movie about a man with short-term memory loss that is loosely inspired by Memento. What are the odds that my first return to Bollywood would be similar?

The first of what will be several movies set in the World of John Wick arrived over the weekend. And, while Ballerina failed to win the box office on its opening weekend, it received solid reviews from both critics and fans. Above all, Ana de Armas is getting a lot of positive buzz due to her performance. That includes kind words from John Wick himself, Keanu Reeves, who recalled one particularly cool instances that exemplifies de Armas' badass status.

John Wick does make an appearance in Ballerina and, with that, he was on hand for the film’s premiere. While speaking with THR on the red carpet, Reeves was asked what he thought was the most “badass” thing Ana de Armas did on set, and the only thing better than what he said was what he didn’t say. Reeves takes a step back and remains silent as he truly contemplates his answer, by apparently running through their entire fight in his head. Check it out:

Far too often, especially on a red carpet, celebrities who get peppered with questions have canned responses that frequently don’t really answer the question and often don’t include much interesting information at all. But Keanu Reeves stops to think, because he wants to give the best possible answer to the question. As somebody who, on occasion, gets to ask famous people questions, I appreciate the thoughtfulness on display.

And, to be sure, Keanu Reeves does have an answer to the question. After thinking about it for a moment, the most “badass” thing that Ana de Armas apparently does in Ballerina is try to give the best possible action performance, by taking what she did in rehearsal and improving on it once the camera is rolling. Reeves said…

Fans saw some of what Keanu and Ana de Armas did to prepare for Ballerina and, seeing the final execution of that work on the screen, it’s difficult not to argue that both stars brought their next-level game. Ballerina may not be quite at the level of the John Wick films, but the new movie is certainly a worthy addition to the larger franchise.

It’s far too early to tell if we’ll see more of Ana de Armas in the John Wick franchise. While the events of Ballerina have us questioning the John Wick timeline, the franchise is only going to grow from here and, as more spinoffs and sequels are created, opportunities for de Armas’ character to return will certainly be there. It seems certain if that happens, she will bring her A-game, and Keanu is already a big fan.

There's an unwritten rule in movies that no character is dead until you full-on see a corpse... and that makes readings of John Wick: Chapter 4's ending complicated. The film's conclusion sees Keanu Reeves' titular protagonist seated and slumping while riddled with bullets and his friends visiting a gravestone with his name, but we never actually see the Baba Yaga's lifeless body. Fans have had debates on the subject, with complexity added by Lionsgate's announcement earlier this year of three new franchise films – but if you ask Ian McShane a.k.a. Winston Scott, John is definitely alive, and there are breadcrumbs leading to questions we should all be asking.

CinemaBlend's Hannah Saulic sat down with the John Wick franchise actor during the recent press day for the new spinoff Ballerina, and one of the questions she asked concerned Winston's relationship with John after Chapter 4. If it turns out the famed assassin is alive, will the legendary manager of The Continental be upset that his friend faked his death? Per McShane, the answer is no, and he explained why:

Although audiences have spent four movies witnessing the complicated relationship between John Wick and Winston Scott (including the latter shooting the former off of a roof in Chapter 3), it is worth noting that we don't really know anything about their shared origin. They obviously run in the same circles and have known each other professionally for years, but what is it that first brought them together and made them close? Ian McShane suggests that Winston's use of Russian at John Wick's grave and the tattoo on his hand is meant to be indicative of a bigger story.

Ian McShane continued saying that the open-ended aspects of the John Wick franchise is part of why he appreciates everything that has been built from the world (with the exception of the streaming series The Continental, which he refuses to watch due to creative differences). He added,

Along with an animated prequel and a spinoff centered on Donnie Yen's Caine from John Wick: Chapter 4, a John Wick: Chapter 5 was announced by Lionsgate at CinemaCon 2025 – though director Chad Stahelski recently splashed some cold water on the idea that it was a done deal. The most important ingredient is creative interest and investment from both Stahelski and Keanu Reeves, and Ian McShane puts it in the hands of Reeves to keep the core series going.

But even if John Wick: Chapter 5 specifically doesn't become a thing, there will still be in-canon adventures like Ballerina, which stars Ana de Armas in the lead as new protagonist Eve Macarro but also features Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves, Anjelica Huston and the late great Lance Reddick. Said McShane,

No other John Wick features presently have release dates, but we'll keep you updated here on CinemaBlend about big news and developments. For now, you can check out Ballerina in theaters now – the film having done battle with the box office powerhouse that is Lilo & Stitch in its debut weekend.

The following contains minor spoilers for Ballerina.

I am an unapologetic fan of all things John Wick. I've seen all the movies. I've been to the Las Vegas Continental. I love the Keanu Reeves-led franchise, and so the fact that we’re not only going to get more John Wick sequels, but prequels and multiple spinoffs, makes me a happy guy. As such, I was very much looking forward to seeing the first of those spinoffs, the Ana de Armas-led Ballerina.

Overall, I think Ballerina was a solid effort. The action sequences, while not quite up to the same standard as the John Wick films, were still well done, with a few really standout moments. Ana de Armas held her own throughout the film, as so many of us hoped she would. But while Ballerina was a solid action movie, I felt it was lacking as a John Wick film, and not because it didn’t have enough Keanu Reeves.

Ballerina’s Villains Are Less Interesting Because They’re Outside The Rules

Ballerina introduces a new group of professional murderers that had not been previously mentioned in the John Wick movies. The group is referred to as a cult, and the description is proven to be apt as they all live together, insulated from the rest of the world.

But what sets them apart from the rest of the characters we know is that this cult does not operate within the rules that have previously been established. It’s made clear that this cult has something of an uneasy peace with the world that exists under High Table. They’re given access to High Table resources like the Continental, but mostly so that world can keep an eye on them.

We see how this new group operates when they attempt to manipulate the High Table assassins into carrying out a killing on the grounds of the Continental. In the end, when that doesn’t quite work, they have no problem pulling triggers themselves and "doing business" on hotel grounds.

While I love Gabriel Byrne, and was excited to see him in Ballerina, I found the villains of the movie boring because operating outside the rules simply means we can ignore the rules, and the rules are what make the World of John Wick special.

The Rules Are What Makes The World Of John Wick Interesting And Unique

If you're going to create a new story set in the World of John Wick, it needs to take the rules of the world into account. Those rules might be limiting in some ways, but that simply means finding creative ways to use the rules (or to embellish them) in order to make the story work.

Even Ballerina does this a little. When Ana de Armas' character is threatened with death for breaking the rules, she points out she was only ever defending herself, and that she never actually killed anybody on Continental grounds. The rule against "conducting business" is suitably vague enough that this works.

With another major spinoff, Caine, starring Donnie Yen, on the way, as well as an animated John Wick prequel. I hope the new films take a lesson from Ballerina and not follow in these footsteps. Don't ignore the rules; instead, find creative ways to use them that will make your action and your story more interesting.

The rules of the John Wick universe are far from clear, and they’re more than a little bizarre. The gold coin-based economy makes basically no sense, but I don’t care. The rules are what make John Wick movies different from other action movies, and as we see more sequels and spinoffs, and whatever else in the John Wick universe, I hope we see more movies that find interesting ways to use the rules, and not simply ignore them.

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains a few light spoilers from Ballerina. If you have not yet seen the John Wick spin-off, be wary of the consequences as you continue to read on.

I have said before that I believe the John Wick movies make up the greatest action franchise of all time. I am happy to say that, in my opinion, director Len Wiseman’s new Ana de Armas-led spin-off, Ballerina, is anything but damaging to that reputation.

However, I must say that I was surprised by just how different the new 2025 movie is from the modern action movie classics that precede it. It is still a relentlessly action-packed revenge movie that even sees Keanu Reeves reprise his iconic role of the famed, troubled assassin, but what makes it stand out from the rest is the fighting style, which is not at all what I expected from it. Allow me to explain…

For A Movie Called Ballerina, The Fight Sequences Are Not Very Balletic

When describing the revolutionary action choreography of the John Wick movies, the first word that always comes to mind for me is “balletic.” The eponymous anti-hero lives in a world full of warriors who deliver combat that, while brutal, somehow boasts a sense of picturesque grace and seemingly rehearsed elegance that would fit in a production of Swan Lake. I assumed I would see more of that in a spin-off called Ballerina, but I turned out to be wrong.

Ana de Armas’ Eve Macarro starts training in the arts of both ballet and contract killing as a child, which had me convinced she would utilize her skills as a dancer while conducting “business.” However, any sense of a balletic performance style starts and ends at the stage, because Eve fights in a way that I would describe as dirty, scrappy, and even clumsy. Yet, that is actually one of my favorite things about Ballerina.

All Things Considered, I Love Eve's Fighting Style

For as much as I adore the unique style of the action sequences in the central John Wick movies, I cannot say that I have ever found it particularly realistic. However, much to my surprise, I would call Ballerina the most realistic installment yet in terms of fight choreography… by comparison, at least.

The film follows Eve's rookie days as an assassin, so to see her prone to mistakes and lacking the same fluency in the field as experienced veterans like Wick is what keeps the story somewhat grounded and the character empathetically and refreshingly human. Plus, it gives her the opportunity to try out new, gloriously over-the-top tricks, such as flame-thrower duels, slicing people up with ice skate blades, and breaking plates over her adversaries’ faces.

Echoing Eric Eisenberg’s Ballerina review, I went into the film with relatively low expectations, considering how this is the fifth installment in a beloved franchise, and a spin-off at that. Luckily, while I would still rank it pretty low among its predecessors for some ridiculous plot twists and, to be frank, the ultimately unnecessary inclusion of Reeves as Wick, it still greatly exceeded those expectations by delivering some of the best action of the year so far.

The world of John Wick is expanding with the newly released spinoff film Ballerina, which follows Ana de Armas’ Eve Macarro as she embarks on a revenge-fueled path. While the 2025 movie release is definitely Eve’s film it also features the Baba Yaga himself, played by the returning Keanu Reeves. As much as excited as some fans may have been to see Reeves reprise his famous role, though fellow franchise veteran Chad Stahelski honestly didn’t want him to return. So that begs the question of why it happened regardless.

Having directed all four of the John Wick films and served as a producer on the series as well, Chad Stahelski knows more than a few things about this beloved IP. So, at this point, he’s definitely not shy about voicing his opinion when it comes to details he’s not too fond of. The Ballerina producer spoke to THR, during which he confirmed that he wasn’t keen on Wick himself popping up in this latest story. While Stahelski didn’t dive deep into his reasoning, he was “honest” in admitting the benefit of having the character in the mix:

Overall, that logic is understandable, considering that Lionsgate is trying to prop up a new character, Eve, with this latest film. So it would make sense for the execs and filmmakers to try and give the spinoff a bump by having Wick play a supporting role. I’m not sure what the producer’s exact concern was in regard to adding Wick to the story. Maybe he was worried that having the infamous assassin pop in might take the shine away from Eve. That would be a genuine concern, but I’d argue that Wick doesn’t step on Eve’s toes too much.

Ballerina may muck up John Wick’s timeline a bit, but it’s hard to deny the sheer awesomeness that results from the film’s chronological placement. Without getting too specific, Wick shows up a few times in the film, with his initial appearance being part of a more personal scene. Of course, as the trailers and TV spots have teased, he and Eve come to blows in a big way, and the sequence makes the movie tickets well worth the price of admission.

However, fans should know that just because Keanu Reeves reprised his role for this latest spinoff, it doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll return in other offshoots. Chad Stahelski went on to confirm to THR that Reeves will not appear in the film focused on Donnie Yen’s Caine. Stahelski went on to explain why he’s not worried about having the franchise’s signature character appear in that flick:

Despite that, there is good news for those who are hoping to see Wick appear once more. John Wick: Chapter 5 was officially announced earlier this year and, while Chad Stahelski says it may not be completely set in stone, he believes Lionsgate is going to “will it into existence.” I look forward to seeing more of the character but remain hopeful that other characters, like Eve and Caine, can carve out their own paths alone as well. For now, check out Ballerina in theaters, and be on the lookout for upcoming action movies.

From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina is one of the most hotly anticipated movies on the 2025 movie schedule. As a big fan of the franchise and the world it has created, it was high on my list, too. I was a little worried about how the reported problems with the production, including director Len Wiseman stepping away at one point because of a health issue, would turn it into a disaster on screen.

I’m happy to report that it isn't the hot mess I feared it could be. Ballerina is actually pretty good. It does seem, however, that the production turmoil has led to a real problem with the franchise’s timeline. Before I go any further, I have to make it clear that there will be major spoilers ahead for Ballerina (and the third and fourth John Wick movies, for that matter), so proceed with caution if you haven’t seen the Ana de Armas-led action movie.

Just What Were The Original Plans For Keanu Reeves In The Movie?

Since very early on in the development of Ballerina, we've known that Keanu Reeves, who, of course, plays John Wick in four movies in the franchise, would make an appearance. We also knew that Ballerina would take place between the third and fourth installments of the John Wick movies. We just didn’t know how big a role Reeves would have, or how it would work into the plot.

Early in the movie, Eve (de Armas) sees Wick come to the theater where she is training with “The Director,” played by Angelica Huston. What Eve sees, from a different perspective, is what audiences saw in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. Wick is branded over his tattoo, indicating he is out of the Ruska Roma. As he is leaving the theater, he and Eve have a brief encounter. I have to wonder if this was originally supposed to be the full extent of Reeves’ participation in the movie.

Reeves Has A Much Larger Role Than I Expected

It’s well known that the director of the four principal John Wick movies, Chad Stahelski, stepped in after initial production wrapped to do re-shoots with Reeves, but just how much work he did is subject to debate. Some reports claim there were extensive re-shoots, but Stahelski himself has downplayed just how much he did. Stahelski told The Hollywood Reporter,

Reeves’ role is much bigger than I thought it would be, with Wick appearing in much of the final act. It seems that at least some of this footage is what Stahelski is responsible for. It is also the part of Ballerina that really messes with the franchise timeline.

When Did That Final Scene In Austria Take Place In The Timeline?

We know the story is supposed to take place between the third and fourth John Wick movies, and the first scene with Reeves in the theater seemingly confirms that, as we see the scene from Parabellum. We also know that Wick is in bad shape at the end of Parabellum, barely clinging to life after falling from the roof of The Continental. He’s certainly not in any kind of shape to travel to Europe and take on a village of assassins, as he does alongside Eve in Ballerina.

Most speculation is that there are about six months between Parabellum and Chapter Four, and we know that during that time, however long it is, he is recovering from his extensive injuries with The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne). We also know that Wick has been expelled from the Ruska Roma by The Director, yet it is Wick whom she calls to help Eve in the village of their rivals. There is no possible way that he could have gotten back in fighting shape and back on good terms with The Director in those few months between the third and fourth movies.

Maybe The Village Battle Came After Chapter 4?

The only possible explanation is that there is a much larger time jump between the first time Eve meets him at the theater and when he joins her in the mountain village. It has to come after the events of Chapter Four, and after Wick has again recovered from the injuries he received in that movie.

Unfortunately, none of that is made clear, so we’re left to wonder just what is going on. It seems entirely possible that the final fight scene in Ballerina could have come many months after the scene in the theater, as Eve has already completed both her training and her first mission protecting the daughter of a rich client.

BUT – that’s not actually possible either, as at the end of Ballerina we see Eve checking in to The Continental with Charon (Lance Reddick) at the front desk, and Charon was tragically killed in Chapter 4.

We’re Going To Have To Suspend Belief Here

In the end, there just isn’t a way to explain how the timeline isn’t screwed up by Ballerina. Either John Wick would be too beat up to be that powerful in the village, or Charon has come back from the dead. Either way, it makes no sense.

That’s not to say it ruins Ballerina or the John Wick franchise. Given the complications of the production and the film's delays, we all just need to be okay with the glitch in the matrix, so to speak. This film still delivers in the ways I want to see in the John Wick universe film, it’s just a little frustrating that the creative forces behind the franchise have elegantly built a really fun world, and this is a blemish on it.

If you want to catch up or rewatch all four John Wick movies, you can do so with a Peacock subscription, which is how I made sure I wasn’t going crazy with these timeline questions.

It’s been eight long years since it was announced that John Wick was getting a spinoff, so there’s no doubt that Ballerina comes highly anticipated for fans of the John Wick franchise. The film — starring Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, the ballerina assassin who seeks revenge for her father’s death — finally hit the 2025 movie calendar on June 6, and critics are here to help us decide if we want to buy tickets to the new action movie.

The John Wick spinoff Ballerina, according to director Len Wiseman, is actually more of a parallel story, as it takes place between 2019’s Chapter 3 – Parabellum and 2023’s Chapter 4 (available to stream with a Peacock subscription).

The film received a glowing reaction from Tom Cruise (who has sparked dating rumors with Ana de Armas). However, in CinemaBlend’s review of Ballerina, Eric Eisenberg contends his low expectations helped his enjoyment of the “meh” spinoff. He rates the movie 3 out of 5 stars, writing:

Clint Gage of IGN gives the movie a “Great” 8 out of 10, admitting the movie does get off to a slow start, but once the story kicks in, Ballerina proves a worthy offering in the franchise, continuing the traditions that draw fans to John Wick but standing on its own in a surprising way. Gage continues:

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gives it 2.5 out of 4 stars, noting that the fight scenes — especially early on — don’t live up to what we’ve come to expect from this franchise. However, the movie’s second half is full of enough action that you won’t care. In Tallerico’s words:

Brian Truitt of USA TODAY calls the Ana de Armas movie a “game-changer,” as the actress is deemed a great addition to the John Wick universe. Truitt enjoys how the character uses more random objects, flamethrowers and knife work for her kills instead of mimicking Wick’s gun fu. He gives the movie 3.5 stars out of 4 and writes:

David Rooney of THR says everyone in Ballerina understands the assignment, including director Len Wiseman, who doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel with the franchise’s new protagonist. The flick very much stays true to the intense gun-fu franchise, making for a great summer afternoon at the movies. Rooney says:

Ballerina is also notable as it was Lance Reddick’s final movie before his 2023 death at age 60. If you’re a fan of the ever-expanding John Wick franchise and want to give this new assassin a shot, Ballerina is in theaters now.

There is an expansive future being planned for the John Wick franchise, with three new features set within the canon announced to be in development earlier this year, but it's sad to know that one special aspect of the movies is being left in the past: the relationship between The Continental manager Winston Scott and the hotel's concierge, Charon. Ian McShane and Lance Reddick make a terrific double act in the four John Wick films, and it's sad that we won't get to see the performers back on screen again following Reddick's passing in early 2023.

The late actor died shortly after completing the press tour for the global release of John Wick: Chapter 4, and Ian McShane – who was paired with him for many interviews – has been reflecting on their last time together during the ramp up to the arrival of Ballerina. During the 2025 movie's New York press day, CinemaBlend's Hannah Saulic asked McShane about their time together making the Ana de Armas-led film, and he recalled his last time seeing his co-star:

Ian McShane and Lance Reddick shot their scenes for Ballerina in late 2022, with the action in the film taking place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 and John Wick: Chapter 4. It will be the last time that audiences get to see Winston Scott and Charon on screen together – the characters assisting Ana de Armas' Eve Macarro in similar fashion to how they helped Keanu Reeves titular protagonist in the John Wick films.

Since Lance Reddick's passing, audiences have been lucky enough to continue seeing him in a number of new projects – both live-action and voice over. Ballerina is arriving following the releases of the White Men Can't Jump remake, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (director William Friedkin's final film), and the biopic Shirley. He voices Thordak in episodes of the Prime Video series The Legend of Vox Machina and is Lex Luthor in HBO Max's animated DC show Kite Man: Hell Yeah!

Featuring John Wick veterans Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick and Anjelica Huston in addition to franchise newcomers including Gabriel Byrne, Norman Reedus, David Castañeda, and Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Ballerina arrives in theaters this Friday, June 6.

The red carpet shimmered brighter than a mirrored jewelry box as Ana de Armas and the radiant cast of the upcoming Ballerina took center stage at the John Wick offshoot's premiere, serving only the highest of fashion. With elegance and enough sparkle to put a Swarovski showroom to shame, the ladies of the not-quite-a-spinoff action movie arrived dressed to kill, sporting tulle and sparkles, and they were absolutely En Pointe.

In one image from the event, which you can see below, de Armas was front and center, dazzling in a lavender, body-hugging gown drenched in sequins. Her look struck the perfect balance between classic Hollywood and cold-blooded assassin, very much in tune with the character's lethal grace in her 2025 movie release. Her cascading waves and understated glam, which she shared a closer look at on her Instagram account, gave her the poise of a prima ballerina and the firey visage of a woman you do not want to cross.

Joining her in this couture corps de ballet was Catalina Sandino Moreno (far left), whose crystal-dusted ivory gown flowed like chiffon. Though plot details are under wraps tighter than a dancer’s bun, one thing’s clear: Moreno’s role is central, and her front-and-center red carpet presence proved it.

Victoria Comte (to the right of de Armas), the young actress portraying the childhood version of de Armas' character, steals the spotlight in her delicate frosted-tulle dress, reminiscent of a fairytale. However, her confident stance reminds us that this story isn't about damsels in distress; instead, it's centered on strong survivors. Clearly, Young Eve is in very capable acting hands.

Then there was the iconic Anjelica Huston, striking in a no-nonsense black suit that radiated power and precision. While the other women floated in flowing fabrics and shimmer, Huston stood firm and commanding, like the ballet mistress of this symphony of violence and revenge. Her presence, both on screen and on the red carpet, exudes pure gravitas—no pirouettes needed.

Keanu Reeves, who reprises his role as John Wick in the film, arrived looking sharp, as always, in a dark suit and tie. On-screen, Wick tangos with Eve in a tension-laced gunfight teased in the trailer. Off-screen, Reeves brought the calm intensity of a danseur noble—a man who’s been through all four acts and is still standing.

The rest of the fantastic Ballerina cast, featuring Norman Reedus, Ian McShane, and Gabriel Byrne, strengthened the lineup. Reedus and McShane maintained a Wick-inspired aesthetic, mainly wearing all-black outfits, with McShane sporting a suitably plum undershirt. In contrast, Byrne added a subtle twist with a muted teal suit, introducing a hint of color without disrupting the noir mood. Together, they formed an impressive supporting ensemble on stage, and surely, at the box office when the film drops.

Ballerina is the latest title in the expanding John Wick universe, following the prequel series The Continental, which is streaming with a Peacock subscription. A few weeks ago, it was announced that several other exciting projects related to the franchise are also in development.

Don't worry if you haven't seen The Continental; neither has cast member Ian Shane. He refused to watch because he disagreed with how his character was portrayed. Fortunately, it's not necessary to catch up on the series before watching the Ana de Armas-led film, which will be released in theaters everywhere on Friday, June 6th.

Franchise building is tricky business, and the only issue isn't maintaining continuity across sequels, spinoffs, and more. A lot of different creative voices get involved, and that can mean conflict developing as the vision of one person doesn't properly line up with the vision of another. Case in point: Ian McShane has not yet watched the John Wick prequel series The Continental because he doesn't approve of how the writers approached the backstory of his character Winston Scott.

McShane explained as much during an interview with CinemaBlend's Hannah Saulic during the recent press day for the new not-a-sequel-not-a-spinoff Ballerina. The actor spoke about his collaboration with the late Lance Reddick, who delivers his final performance as Charon in the Ana de Armas-led movie, and he explained that the two of them had their own backstory in mind that explained how their characters first met and became friends. Said McShane,

I'm assuming that neither Winston Scott nor Charon lived lives as saints as young adults, but in the minds of Ian McShane and Lance Reddick, they were men who both served their country, and when their services were no longer required, they found a different way to utilize their special skill sets: they became invested in the world of professional assassins and took up positions of prominence and power at the Continental Hotel in New York.

However, this is not the story that is presented in The Continental, the prequel series that became available for Peacock subscribers in late 2023. The show suggests that Winston Scott's background is as a criminal, and that's not a take that Ian McShane agrees with. He disagrees with it so much, in fact, that he has completely dismissed it and seemingly has no plans to watch. He continued,

Seeing Winston and Charon with backgrounds in spy craft was apparently something that Ian McShane and Lance Reddick saw eye-to-eye on – though the former says that they had a very different perspective when it came to being involved in John Wick's trademark action sequences:

Audiences will get to see Ian McShane back as Winston Scott loving and not fighting this weekend as Ballerina arrives in theaters everywhere. The impressive cast includes a number of John Wick franchise veterans, including not only the aforementioned McShane and Reddick but also Keanu Reeves and Anjelica Huston. Be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend in the coming days for a lot more of our coverage of the new release, including more from our interviews with the film's stars.

When it comes to actors pushing the boundaries of action movies today, few come close to Tom Cruise. The 62-year-old A-lister has performed some of the most impressive stunts ever put to film, including those he undertakes in the 2025 movie release Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Of course, game recognizes game, and Tom Cruise has no problem shouting out others who produce excellent work. That was the case when he shouted out Keanu Reeves, and his comments have me hoping for a collaboration between the stars.

There are plenty of excellent Keanu Reeves performances but, when it specifically comes to his work in the action genre, the John Wick films are amongst his greatest achievements. It would seem that Tom Cruise is definitely a fan of the work Reeves and his collaborators have done. While on the red carpet for The Final Reckoning, Cruise gushed about Reeves and how he’s personally enjoyed the actor’s work over the years:

Something I never tire of seeing or hearing is an actor showing support for a fellow artist, and the Edge of Tomorrow star is absolutely right. The Wick films are a showcase of incredible action, which is in great part due to the efforts of franchise director Chad Stahelski, stunt coordinators and stunt actors along with the leading man and some of his co-stars. During his chat with Extra, Tom Cruise showered even more praise on the creative team’s efforts:

Why These Comments Make Me Feel A Team-Up Should Happen (And Soon)

Considering how great Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise are at what they do, I’m honestly now just thinking about how I'd love to see them headline a film of their own. It’s actually surprising they’ve yet to work together on a blockbuster, especially considering their vast experience with action and thriller films, and their ability to use their bodies in ways most actors don't try. (Plus, they've both been in Hollywood for a long time and I'm a little surprised have not crossed paths.)

The obvious pitch would be for Cruise and Reeves to play to characters who have to team up to complete some sort of dangerous task. However, I personally like the idea of a story that requires the two actors to play characters pitted against each other. (Just imagine how awesome a hand-to-hand fight between those two stars would be.)

As far as the general public knows, such a project isn’t in the cards, but the stars do have other titles on the docket. Tom Cruise is starring in a yet-to-be-titled film from Alejandro G. Iñárritu, which is set to hit theaters in 2026. As for Reeves, he’s set to reprise his role as John Wick in the upcoming spinoff film, Ballerina, which stars Ana de Armas, who Cruise also admires. Reeves is also set to play the Baba Yaga in a fifth film, for which a release date has yet to be announced.

I take comfort in the fact that the aforementioned leading men are still going strong and delivering top-tier entertainment. Hopefully, they’ll be able to continue to contribute great work in upcoming action movies as long as they would like and are able. And, all the while, fellow fans, keep your fingers crossed for a Cruise/Reeves collaboration.

When it comes to discussing franchises, there is a vast lexicon of terms that can be used to describe different installments. We live in an age where there are far more than just simple sequels: there are spinoffs, prequels, crossovers, team-ups, capstones, legacyquels, reboots, retcons, and more. It provides modern filmmakers with a lot of creative options when it comes to adding to an existing canon, and it’s something that director Len Wiseman very much appreciates when it came to making his new action movie Ballerina starring Ana de Armas.

Ballerina is a title that expands the breadth of the ever-growing John Wick universe (which announced a number of other exciting in-the-works projects a few weeks ago), and it sits in an interesting position within the continuity. When I spoke with the film’s director earlier this year during a press day at 87Eleven Action Design, he explained how the movie slots into the timeline of the action franchise and noted that it’s something a bit different than your standard sequel or spinoff. Said Wiseman,

Audiences who have seen John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum have gotten an early look into the part of the canon world that will be further explored in Ballerina. In the 2019 movie, the titular Keanu Reeves character is looking for safe harbor as he is being hunted by every assassin on Earth, and he finds it in a theater with an old acquaintance known as The Director (Anjelica Huston). It’s during the sequence at this location that we learn of a program that simultaneously trains young women to be both dancers and killers – and it’s here that Ana de Armas’s Eve Macarro enters the picture.

The story in Ballerina essentially uses this sequence as a launching pad, and while it unfurls principally with Eve on a solo mission of personal vengeance, the plot also eventually sees her cross paths with the legendary Baba Yaga as he is gearing up for what audiences got to witness in 2023’s John Wick: Chapter 4. It’s a cool twist for fans who enjoying marathoning their favorite franchises in special watch orders.

Further solidifying it within the John Wick franchise, Ballerina not only features Keanu Reeves’ return as the world’s most dangerous assassin and Anjelica Huston reprising her role as The Director, but it also has Ian McShane back as Winston Scott and Lance Reddick delivering is final performance as Continental Hotel concierge Charon. Long in the works, Ballerina will be arriving in theaters everywhere on June 6.

I think I speak for many when I say audiences love it when characters from two (or more) different movies or TV series come together in one special event, such as the epic monster movies featuring both Godzilla and King Kong, or when Scooby-Doo and Mystery Inc. appeared on Supernatural. Of course, for all of the mind-blowing crossovers we have been blessed with, there is still much to be desired in the realm of bringing two big-screen or small-screen franchises together.

In that respect, let’s let our imaginations run wild and dream up the movie or TV crossovers that would be incredible to see. Now, I cannot promise that many (or all) of these ideas are legally or even humanly possible, but why should we let that get in the way of the fun?

Toy Story And Small Soldiers

The first, and still one of the best, Pixar movies, Toy Story, showed us the world from the point of view of sentient toys in 1995. Three years later, Small Soldiers offered the same perspective, but with more of an edge and a more realistic approach. Seeing Woody (Tom Hanks) and other innocent children's playthings crossing paths with Major Chip Hazard (Tommy Lee Jones) and his AI-powered, militaristic action figures sounds like one wonderfully warped animated flick, if you ask me.

The Office And Parks And Recreation

As recalled by MovieWeb, co-creators Michael Schur and Greg Daniels initially conceived Parks and Recreation as a spin-off of The Office before it turned into its own separate and equally beloved TV sitcom. Still, there is no reason why Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and his former Dunder-Mifflin co-workers could not somehow cross paths with Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and other Pawnee residents in a mockumentary-style special.

Drive And Fast And Furious

A famous example of misleading movie marketing is 2011's slow-burn, Neo-noir thriller Drive, which one woman assumed would be more of a high-octane action thriller like the Fast and Furious movies, inspiring her to file a lawsuit, according to The Guardian. Honestly, I see this as a reason to give the people what they want and release a movie that sees Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew facing off against Ryan Gosling's Driver.

Succession And Yellowstone

Having both premiered in 2018, Jesse Armstrong's Succession and Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone would become subjects of comparison, with some even calling the Paramount Network hit "Succession with cowboy hats." I think seeing the wealthy and vindictive Roys indulging in a rivalry with the also wealthy and vindictive Duttons would make for one epic feature-length special or miniseries.

21 Jump Street And Men In Black

Among the hypothetical crossovers presented here, not all are too much of a stretch from the realm of possibility. In fact, there were actual plans for a film called MIB23, which would have brought Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) from the 21 Jump Street movie into the world of the Men in Black franchise. Unfortunately, plans were scrapped in 2019, but I still have hope this insane sci-fi/comedy mash-up could work.

Poker Face And The Thing

Imagine if human lie detector Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) from the Peacock original TV show Poker Face was trapped in one place with a group of people who may or may not be shapeshifting extraterrestrial organisms in disguise, like the 1982 horror movie classic, The Thing. She would be the only one who could suss out the imitators, but the rest of the group might be too paranoid to confidently trust her judgment. I think Rian Johnson should give John Carpenter a call.

Star Wars And Marvel Cinematic Universe

As a fan of both the Star Wars movies and of Guardians of the Galaxy, I love the idea of seeing the cosmic warriors from the Marvel Cinematic Universe visit George Lucas' galaxy far, far away. Considering both Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm are owned by Disney, this intergalactic epic is entirely possible, as long as the timeline is respected, of course.

RoboCop And Terminator

Omni Consumer Products' half-man, half-machine crime-fighting tool has crossed paths with Skynet's mechanical killer before, but only on the pages of a Dark Horse comic book series from Frank Miller. Why Hollywood has not yet tried its hand at a movie that pits the hero from RoboCop against any of the antagonistic cyborgs from the Terminator franchise is beyond me.

James Bond And Jason Bourne

The Matt Damon-led Jason Bourne movies are often cited as the inspiration for the James Bond franchise's grittier tone, especially after Daniel Craig took over as 007. If there could be a way to get the American amnesiac assassin and the suave MI6 agent together in a room (which would likely be destroyed by the end), that could make for one of the best spy movies ever.

Sherlock And Doctor Who

Two of the BBC's most popular series, Sherlock and Doctor Who, both involve a highly intelligent, fashionable, and sometimes arrogant protagonist who is accompanied by a reliable companion. For that and many other reasons, I think it would be amazing to see them come together in a special or miniseries in which Holmes, hitting a wall with a case that defies logic, finds unexpected help from The Doctor.

DC Universe And Marvel Cinematic Universe

The two biggest comic book publishing companies in the world have not always been rivals and have indulged in creating stories that see DC heroes and Marvel heroes fighting side by side. Considering his strong ties to the MCU, it can't be out of the question for DC Studios head James Gunn to at least call a meeting with Kevin Feige to discuss bringing this kind of crossover to the big screen, which might end up being the greatest superhero movie ever made.

John Wick And Kill Bill

While largely differing in tone, the John Wick movies and Quentin Tarantino's two-part Kill Bill saga are pretty similar in concept, following two retired, legendary assassins waging a vengeful war on those who wronged them. Who is to say that Keanu Reeves' gun-fu master and Uma Thurman's The Bride never crossed paths in their deadly heyday?

The Evil Dead And The Exorcist

Two of the most popular franchises of demonic possession movies, The Exorcist and The Evil Dead, could not be more different from one another, which is exactly why I want to see them converge. In my pitch, grown-up Regan MacNeill's (Linda Blair) expertise in devilish activity is enlisted to help with a new case, but when it spirals out of control, the only one who can help is chainsaw-headed Deadite hunter, Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell).

Inception And A Nightmare On Elm Street

When you think about it, Leonardo DiCaprio's Dom Cobb from Christopher Nolan's Inception essentially has the same job as Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street. Just imagine how much more challenging his team's adventures through the subconscious would be with Robert Englund's sadistic, badly burned boogeyman invading the same dream.

Alien, Predator, And Jurassic Park

You know what I think the Alien vs. Predator movies were missing? Dinosaurs. Putting these two fearsome extraterrestrials in yet another battle, but while trapped on one of the prehistoric animal-infested islands from the Jurassic Park films, could result in one of the most exciting entries from any of these franchises. You would not even need human characters to make it work because seeing both the Predator and the Xenomorph knocked down a peg by the T-Rex as a common enemy would be more than enough.

Ghostbusters And Casper

We already know that Casper and the Ghostbusters exist in the same universe, thanks to Dan Aykroyd's cameo as Ray Stantz in the Friendly Ghost's 1995 live-action feature adaptation of the animated series. I am sure Casper would happily help the paranormal exterminators take on a few evil spirits, even after an awkward misunderstanding were to happen when they first meet.

Mad Max And Dredd

The great thing about post-apocalyptic movies is that each has a different, intriguing interpretation of what a dystopian society would look like. However, what if the Wasteland from George Miller's Mad Max movies existed just across the (dried up) pond from Mega City One in Dredd? The gritty, visually stunning possibilities are endless.

Blade And Twilight

Allow me to make one thing clear: I am not suggesting that Marvel Comics' vampire hunter, originally played on the big screen by Wesley Snipes, should show up in the Twilight movies just to see Robert Pattinson's Edward, Kristen Stewart's Bella, and other bloodsuckers get slaughtered. I actually think Blade's presence could give the persistent haters of the films based on Stephanie Meyer's YA novel series a reason to treat the franchise with a little more respect.

Indiana Jones And Marvel Cinematic Universe

Since Disney owns both Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm, I wonder if anyone there has ever tinkered with the idea of putting a character like Indiana Jones in the MCU. I mean, he and Steve "Captain America" Rogers would have been alive around the same time and, as staunch anti-fascists, probably would have gotten along great. I doubt Harrison Ford's casting as Thunderbolt Ross in Captain America: Brave New World would cause much confusion, either.

Monk And Psych

The USA Network used to run promos bringing characters from their respective series together, including one in which Tony Shalhoub's eponymous detective from Monk suspects that Shawn Spencer (James Roday Rodriguez) is not a real psychic. It makes me wish that we could have seen an official crossover episode that would have seen plenty of funny bickering between the carefree Shawn and someone as neurotic as Adrian Monk, who at least might have gotten along with Gus (Dulé Hill).

Power Rangers And Godzilla

By combining their respective, animal-shaped vehicles into one large Megazord, the Power Rangers have managed to face off against bizarre creatures of all sizes, which means they could realistically take on Godzilla. However, if I were to pitch this crossover, the rangers would eventually have to join forces with the King of the Monsters after an even larger creature emerges to wreak havoc on Angel Grove.

Bill & Ted And Wayne's World

Perhaps we never saw Bill S. Preston Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Keanu Reeves) take Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) on a trip through time because we are not worthy of such an excellent idea. Then again, if Myers and Carvey can still get together for Wayne's World reunions on SNL and Reeves and Winter could come back for 2020's Bill & Ted Face the Music, who says it doesn't have potential?

Dirty Harry And Death Wish

I think the greatest Dirty Harry movie we never saw would have put Clint Eastwood's Lt. Callahan on the case of a murderer targeting the most vicious gangs in San Francisco, which would turn out to be Charles Bronson's Paul Kersey from Death Wish. Inevitably, I think Harry would be lured into an alliance with the vengeful vigilante, coming to believe that his more permanent methods of justice align with his own.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer And Sabrina The Teenage Witch

It's a shame that there was never any attempt to make an official crossover between Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Sarah Michelle Gellar and the Melissa Joan Hart-led Sabrina the Teenage Witch while they were still on the air. The coming-of-age supernatural series may have differed dramatically in tone, but that is just what would have made the collaboration such a blast.

Harry Potter And The Dresden Files

If fans of the Harry Potter movies have ever been interested in trying out something a bit darker and grittier, there is another literary modern-day wizard with the same first name: Harry Dresden, played by Paul Blackthorne on the SyFy series, The Dresden Files. I think it would be fun to see J.K. Rowling's The Boy Who Lived helping author Jim Butcher's Chicago-based P.I. solve a grisly mystery in which magic is involved.

The Munsters And The Addams Family

They may have been on different networks and produced by opposing studios, but how in the world has there never been an attempt to introduce the Munsters to the Addams Family? I would even be open to getting the actors from Rob Zombie's reboot movie to star alongside the cast of Netflix's Wednesday if it meant getting just a glimpse at these creepy, kooky families finally coming together.

It And Terrifier

There are no two villains in the subgenre of creepy clown movies more iconic than Pennywise from It and Art the Clown from Terrifier. I can't imagine a horror fan being against the idea of bringing Bill Skarsgård's shapeshifting fear demon from Andy Muschietti's blockbuster adaptation of Stephen King's novel and David Howard Thornton from Damien Leone's shocking indie slashers together for one brutal showdown that would have blood and white face paint smeared across the screen.

Hocus Pocus And Trick 'R Treat

In Disney's cult favorite, family-friendly witch movie, 1993's Hocus Pocus, our young protagonists go through a lot of trouble to defeat the Sanderson Sisters (played by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker). I cannot help but wonder how easily those sinister spellcasters could have been taken care of by the mischievous Sam from the 2007 anthology horror movie favorite, Trick 'r Treat.

Hoarders And Storage Wars

You know those people on the show Hoarders who compulsively keep hold of any item they possess, no matter how unnecessary or even unhealthy it may be? I have a potential idea to help them: put them on another A&E reality show called Storage Wars and tell them that they must outbid other experienced collectors if they want to maintain ownership of their junk.

Johnny English And The Pink Panther

While it barely held a candle to Peter Sellers, I cannot deny that I enjoyed Steve Martin's portrayal of Inspector Jacques Clouseau in his Pink Panther reboot. I even more enjoyed Rowan Atkinson as a bumbling Bond-wannabe in the Johnny English movies. I imagine that having the clueless French detective and accident-prone British spy cross paths on a case would result in some real comedic dynamite (especially if real dynamite is involved).

Sister Act And The Nun

After watching Whoopi Goldberg's Academy Award-winning performance in Ghost, I am convinced that a sequel to Sister Act in which Deloris Wilson-Van Cartier must contend with the habit-wearing demon Valak (Bonnie Aarons) from the Conjuring movies would be a riot.

Big Brother And Survivor

Big Brother and Survivor are both competitive reality shows that make social interaction a key element to winning, with the biggest difference being the setting. If I ran CBS, I would send the most famous all-stars from Big Brother to a remote island, bring Survivor champs to the Big Brother house, and see what happens.

The John Wick franchise became more than just a saga following Keanu Reeves’ title assassin when it delivered the Peacock subscription-exclusive prequel series The Continental in 2023. Now we’re about to enter spinoff territory again with the 2025 movie release of Ballerina, which stars Ana de Armas in the lead role. This time though, Reeves gets to partake in this side quest as John Wick, although this didn’t mark the first time he and de Armas met. A decade ago, the former showed the latter choreography from the first John Wick movie.

Ana de Armas, who has previous action experience from No Time to Die, The Gray Man and Ghosted, reflected on that experience while appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She and Keanu Reeves first worked together on Knock Knock, and after they made each other’s acquaintance, he showed off some of the moves he’d done for John Wick, which hadn’t been released yet. In de Armas’ words:

As well he should have been! While Keanu Reeves had no idea at the time that John Wick would spawn a popular franchise, the action choreography alone was enough to make it stand out from the crowd. So Ana de Armas and everyone else in that restaurant got a special tease for what was to come, and man, I wish I could’ve been there. When John Wick was released in October 2014, it was met with positive critical reception and made $86 million worldwide, somewhere around three-four times its budget. Chapter 2 was greenlit a few months later, and the rest is history.

Now the time has come to spotlight Ana de Armas’ Eve Macarro in Ballerina, as we’ll see her training to exact revenge on the people who killed her father. That will include her clashing with John Wick, and de Armas went on to explain just how much these movies mean to Keanu Reeves, whom she’s now worked with three times (they also co-starred in Exposed):

Ballerina takes place between the events of the third and fourth John Wick movies. As such, we’ll find Reeves’ character after he was found by The Bowery King, but before he started carrying out his mission of vengeance against The High Table. Although John Wick: Chapter 5 is in development, if it doesn’t get off the ground it’s entirely possible Ballerina will be the last time we see him playing the character since Chapter 4 ended with him being presumed dead.

But ultimately Ballerina is Ana de Armas’ platform to shine on, and her other co-stars include Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane, the late Lance Reddick, Gabriel Byrne and Norman Reedus, among others. The action flick, which arrives in theaters on June 6, was directed by Len Wiseman and written by Shay Hatten, and John Wick helmer Chad Stahelski oversaw the reshoots, although he’ll go uncredited for that work.

John Wick doesn’t come by allies easily, but Ian McShane’s Winston is one who’s been consistently in his corner since the John Wick film series began in 2014. As such, McShane has seen a lot of characters come and go from this world of assassins and other colorful criminals, most of whom departed at the lethal hands of Keanu Reeves’ protagonist. However, one above all has made Shane the angriest, and I got a kick out of his reason for why.

McShane is back as Winston for Ballerina, the first theatrical John Wick spinoff, with Ana de Arias leading as Eve Macarro. Ahead of Ballerina’s release on the 2025 movies schedule, the Deadwood alum looked back on his time in the John Wick saga with CBR and revealed that he’s still pretty pissed off at Alfie Allen’s Iosef Tarasov from the first movie. As McShane explained:

Any John Wick fan can tell you that if it hadn’t been for Iosef Tarasov, Keanu Reeves’ character would have never returned to this world of bloodshed. The son of Russian crime boss Viggo Tarasov made the stupid decision to steal John’s car and kill his new dog in the process. The latter in particular was especially egregious, as the dog was a final parting gift from John’s late wife, Helen.

As such, John wasted no time in exacting revenge of Iosef and eliminating anyone who stood in his way, including Viggo, who sealed his fate when he had John’s mentor Marcus killed. That in turn paved the way for all the trouble that unfolded in the later John Wick movies, including, in a way, Ballerina given John’s involvement in the spinoff. But most importantly of all, Ian McShane still takes issue with the slappable face of Game of Thrones’ Alfie Allen. I’m so glad he has his priorities straight. Frankly, Iosef’s arrogance just increases the level of slappability.

But hey, what’s done is done, and at least in real life, Iosef Tarasov’s idiotic actions gave us some of the best action movies. As far as Ian McShane’s Winston is concerned, Ballerina will check in on him between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, when he was still running the original version of The Continental’s New York branch with the late Lance Reddick’s Charon as his concierge. This story will see Ana de Arias’ character using the assassination skills she leaned from the Ruska Roma to seek revenge against the people who killed her father.

Ballerina opens in theaters on June 6, and de Armas, McShane, Reeves and Reddick are joined Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Norman Reedus, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Choi Soo-young, Catalina Sandino Moreno and David Castañeda. Len Wiseman directed the spinoff and Shay Hatten wrote the script.

Throughout the history of filmmaking, stunt performers have been invaluable parts of various movies. So it’s fitting that stunt work will be honored by the Oscars in a few years time. A film franchise that’s been at the forefront of quality stunt work is John Wick, which is headlined by Keanu Reeves. As a result of his work in four main films (and a spinoff), the leading man has certainly put his body through the wringer. Something Reeves wants to be clear about, though, is actually what he does on set in relation to stunt work in his movies.

Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski – the director of the John Wick films – have recently been promoting the documentary Wick is Pain. The film provides a deep dive into the making of the hit series of movies, including the stunt work involved. A portion of fans may be under the impression that Reeves performs a sizable amount of his own stunts. However, the fan-favorite actor clarified during a screening of the doc (via The Hollywood Reporter), that much of the credit should go elsewhere:

Quite frankly, I love to hear the Canadian actor give his stunt double, Jackson Spidell, his flowers. It goes without saying that stunt actors really are among the unsung heroes of Hollywood. Due to insurance reasons, personal preferences or other variables, most lead actors can’t perform the vast majority of their own stunts. That’s when stunt doubles are called in and, without them, some of the biggest action sequences in film history wouldn’t be possible. The Speed icon later punctuated his point with another sentiment:

This isn’t all to say that Keanu Reeves is any kind of slouch, of course. In Wick is Pain, Jackson Spidell noted that if viewers ever actually do see John Wick in pain, Reeves isn’t faking it. During past interviews, the A-lister has also discussed his participation in action sequences – some of which resulted in Reeves throwing up. Reeves admitted that after shooting the fourth film in the franchise, he needed a rest from the gym. However, with a fifth Wick film now in the works, he’ll likely have to return at some point.

When it comes to that upcoming Wick installment, my hope is that it’ll be released at a point at which it can compete in the Academy’s Achievement in Stunt Design category. Chad Stahelski – a former stuntman – was a driving force behind the category being added, and it’ll make its debut at the 100th Oscars in 2028. Keep your fingers crossed that that’s the case and, as you watch or rewatch Wick films, try to be as cognizant as Keanu Reeves is of the important roles stunt actors play.

John Wick is set to appear on the big screen this summer by way of the spinoff film Ballerina, which hits theaters on June 6 as part of the 2025 movie schedule. Wick is Pain is also available to buy on digital platforms now.

The John Wick franchise has been incredibly successful, so it’s not exactly a shock that there are multiple films in development. Later this year, we’ll see the Ana de Armas-led Ballerina, and the next couple of years promise a Donnie Yen-starring Caine spinoff and an animated John Wick prequel. However, one movie that has the potential to be the biggest of them all is also potentially the most difficult to make, John Wick: Chapter 5.

A new John Wick film starring Keanu Reeves is certainly the thing that fans are going to want. However, considering that John Wick: Chapter 4 seemingly wrapped up the story quite nicely, one wonders how a new movie will even work. Director and franchise producer Chad Stahelski admits to Empire that the last movie ended the previous story, so he says the only way to make Chapter 5 is to tell a new story. He explained…

The ending of John Wick: Chapter 4 gave us John Wick’s apparent death. And while the death of John Wick was ambiguous enough that discovering he’s alive won’t require a great deal of work, the bigger issue is that Wick’s larger goal (getting out from under the High Table) was accomplished. As such, there isn’t an obvious place for John Wick: Chapter 5 to continue the story.

The decision to tell some sort of brand-new story feels like the right one. At the end of the day, as long as it has the action we’ve come to expect, those moments that, in the words of Chad Stahelski, make the audience say “Holy crap,” fans will be happy.

Of course, the thing that might truly determine the success of John Wick: Chapter 5 is how it starts. The circumstances that brought John Wick out of retirement became an iconic element in the whole series. Whatever it is that brings John Wick back from the dead is going to have to be at least as powerful to get the audience invested.

The change in focus certainly doesn’t mean that the elements of the John Wick universe, like the Continental Hotel, won’t play their part. One assumes that since Wick successfully freed himself from the High Table, they shouldn’t mind that he’s not actually dead. In fact, a new direction could lead to the creation of more elements of this universe that we haven’t seen before, which could open the doors to even more exciting material.

As somebody who loves the John Wick franchise so much, I recently checked out the John Wick Experience in Las Vegas, I will be looking forward to seeing John Wick: Chapter 5 whenever we get that chance.

Spoilers for the Season 2 finale of 1923 are ahead! To stream the first two seasons in full, all you need is a Paramount+ subscription.

In the Season 2 finale of 1923, there is a ton of jaw-dropping action (the train station and ranch fights) and reveals (Alex’s baby being named John). However, I’d argue that the most badass moment of this whole episode came after Spencer Dutton killed Donald Whitfield and then walked out of his burning house next to Jacob Dutton. So, obviously, I had to ask Brandon Sklenar what it was like to film such an epic moment with Harrison Ford, and he compared it to Die Hard and John Wick.

As the finale aired on the 2025 TV schedule, and I watched this scene specifically for the first time, I couldn’t help but think about some of the best action movies and moments where characters walk away from an explosion or a burning building without looking back at it. It turns out, Sklenar couldn’t either, as he understandably likened this scene to Die Hard and John Wick, telling me:

It feels important to note that the fact that John McClane is nicknamed Mr. Cowboy by Hans Gruber in Die Hard makes this even better.

Plus, in a lot of ways, Sepncer’s absolute annihilation of everyone trying to take down his family reminded me a lot of Bruce Willis' iconic movie and his characters’ actions in it. So, the walk out of the burning building after killing Whitfield was the cherry on top, and it 100% gave big Die Hard and John Wick energy.

Sklenar also loved filming this scene because it paid homage to iconic action films and, you know, he got to do it with Harrison Ford, as he explained:

While Bruce Willis and Keanu Reeves are action heroes Sklenar specifically mentioned, let’s not forget that Harrison Ford is at the center of the Indiana Jones films and Star Wars movies. So, not only did the Drop actor get to play out a classic action moment, he also got to do it with a bonafide action star.

He was very aware of that too, gushing about the Shrinking actor while he told me about filming this epic instance.

At one point while filming the scene where Spencer and Jacob walk out of the burning house, Slkenar said he and Ford just kept walking and walking toward the cameras without stopping. Then, at one point, his co-star told him to make a run for it:

Well that story just makes this whole entire situation even better. While they looked totally badass in the moment, I’m maybe even more obsessed with how much fun the seemed to be having while shooting it.

There’s no denying that these action-packed and death-filled episodes of 1923 have been epic and done on a grand scale, and this scene specifically is a great example of that. So, yeah, I can see why the real Mr. Cowboy compared it to Die Hard’s Mr. Cowboy and other beloved action flicks.

A lot of people, if they met Keanu Reeves in person, would probably have some amount of difficulty actually talking to him. He is the internet’s boyfriend, after all. He’s become a nearly mythic figure in Hollywood. Ana de Armas is a pretty big star herself, but there was a time when she wasn’t, and she apparently embarrassed herself in front of the actor when they first met.

Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas will share the screen later this year when the John Wick spinoff Ballerina arrives in theaters, but it will actually be the second time the two have been in a movie together. Ten years ago, they co-starred in the thriller Knock Knock. On stage receiving the CinemaCon award for Action Star of the Year (via THR), de Armas revealed that she was afraid to speak to Keanu when they had dinner together because her English wasn’t very good. She said…

De Armas may have been trying to avoid embrassassing herself with what she felt were her poor English skills, but it seems she did not avoid that. The topic of Reeves' biggest movie to date, The Matrix, came up, and the star asked de Armas if she had seen the film.

Unfortunately, she didn’t quite understand the question. She continued…

Things have come a long way. Reeves also discussed John Wick at the dinner, a movie that he had just completed. Nobody could have guessed that John Wick would become a franchise and that it would spawn spinoffs that would bring the two actors back together.

Keanu Reeves will reprise his role as John Wick in Ballerina. It's also been confirmed that John Wick 5 is in development. Perhaps Ana de Armas will return the favor and appear in that one.

Ana de Armas might be a bit embarrassed by the story, but apparently not enough to avoid telling it in front of a lot of Hollywood elites and media. Honestly, it’s a pretty endearing tale, as most of us would probably embarrass ourselves in front of Keanu Reeves. Plus, today, Ana de Armas is a major star in her own right, somebody a lot of people would probably be too nervous to talk to if they had the chance.

John Wick: Chapter 4 seemed designed to be the end of the story of Keanu Reeves’ killer of assassins but this week we received conformation that’s not the case. Not only is John Wick: Chapter 5 in development, but the World of John Wick is growing even more, with three other John Wick projects currently on the way. The most exciting of them all may be the new film, Caine, starring Donnie Yen, and he is certainly excited for it.

In addition to Ballerina staring Ana de Armas being on the 2025 movie schedule and John Wick: Chapter 5 in its early stages, we’re set to get an animated John Wick from Ultraman: Rising director Shanon Tindle and an additional spinoff starring Donnie Yen’s Caine, who was introduced in John Wick: Chapter 4. Not only will Yen star in the movie, he will also direct it. And Yen responded to the news on Instagram in a simple way that, as a fan, has me seriously pumped up. He said simply…

As a fan of the entire John Wick franchise, and of Donnie Yen specifically, I am also ready, and can’t wait to see this new movie when it arrives. Donnie Yen has always been one of the great martial artists in film history and seeing more of his work, done in the John Wick style, and under his own direction, adds up to what could be an absolutely incredible action movie.

Of course, Donnie Yen’s comment on Instagram also raises some important questions, because, why is Donnie Yen telling John Wick that he is ready? The new Caine movie will be set following the events of John Wick: Chapter 4, the story in which John Wick apparently died. We know that, if a fifth movie is happening, John Wick won’t stay dead. Could this mean that, like Ballerina, John Wick might make an appearance in Caine?

It’s certainly a possibility. What we initially thought was only going to be a Keanu Reeves’ cameo in the John Wick spinoff Ballerina now looks to be a bit more than a simple cameo, as Wick will be called in to stop the titular Ballerina played by Ana de Armas. It wouldn’t be that surprising if some reason is given for Wick and Caine to cross paths again.

Of course, Ballerina is set prior to John Wick’s “death” so an appearance by Keanu Reeves in Caine would require an explanation that isn’t needed in Ballerina. Still, it’s all quite possible.

Whatever happens and whoever appears in Caine, it’s an exciting project for fans of Donnie Yen and the World of John Wick. Production on the spinoff is supposed to start later this year, so a 2026 release date isn’t outside the realm of possibility.

A lot of fans, myself included, got very excited when Lionsgate confirmed that John Wick: Chapter 5 was officially in development. The movie had been talked about almost as soon as John Wick: Chapter 4 stopped filming, but this week, the studio confirmed at Cinemacon that the fifth film is on the way.

Of course, there is one issue that the new sequel will need to overcome. There’s the small, insignificant issue of the title character being dead. Even Kanye West, who frequently uses social media to cause all sorts of choas, used it to ask how the next movie will overcome Wick’s apparent demise. West said on X:

Exactly how John Wick will come back from the dead is a perfectly reasonable question to ask. The last movie ended in a way that gave the story of John Wick a perfect ending. Having said that, it’s not like that ending didn’t, very intentionally, leave itself open for a potential return.

At the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, Keanu Reeves’ character appears to have been fatally wounded, and the movie cuts from watching him bleed to death to his grave. However, there was clearly a lot that would have needed to transpire between those two moments. Even Winston and the Bowry King, standing over John’s grave, talk around the man, indicating he may not actually be buried there.

John Wick is supposed to have freed himself from the vengeance of the High Table, but for a man who had once tried to simply get out of the life of a professional assassin, perhaps he thought faking his death was the only way to be truly free. John Wick: Chapter 5 won’t need to do anything particularly incredible with its story to explain that John Wick is actually still alive.

If nothing else, I think Kanye West can relax as I don’t see the new movie making John Wick a “mystical character.” He’s already a nearly invincible killing machine. He doesn’t need to be The Crow too.

There were no details given regarding John Wick 5, so while there is reportedly a story in place, there likely isn’t yet a polished script,. Thus, filming is likely still a long way off. Fans of the franchise won’t need to worry too much however, as there are three separate spin-off projects in development as well.

We’ll see the Ana de Armas-led Ballerina spin-off, complete with Keanu Reeves's appearance, later this year. A spinoff movie starring Donnie Yen’s Caine, which will also be directed by him, is also in development. Finally, we have an animated movie that will tell the story of John Wick’s “Impossible Task” that freed him from the life the first time around.

Keanu Reeves’ John Wick seemingly died at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, with the final scene featuring Ian McShane's Winston Scott and Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King standing over the character’s grave… but the assassin’s journey on the big screen isn’t over. In fact, things are significantly heating up in the future of the franchise, as today we got news of three new John Wick projects that are officially in development, including John Wick: Chapter 5.

CinemaCon, the annual convention for movie theater owners, is playing out in Las Vegas this week, and during this morning’s studio presentation from Lionsgate, the studio announced that the John Wick franchise is expanding in a major way. While director Len Wiseman’s Ballerina starring Ana de Armas isn’t set to arrive on the big screen until the summer, there are now three other features on the way as well, the titles including John Wick: Chapter 5, the spinoff Caine starring Donnie Yen, and an animated prequel film.

John Wick: Chapter 5 Is Officially A Go

Despite the death of the titular character in John Wick: Chapter 4, it took very little time after the release of the film for chatter to begin about a John Wick: Chapter 5, with a studio executive confirming development of the project in May 2023. Director Chad Stahelski has shared some doubt about the sequel, but now it has been announced that both he and Keanu Reeves are officially attached to make another film.

Specific plans for production have not been revealed, and the official announcement included neither a release date not the name of a screenwriter who will pen the script. Apparently, however, Keanu Reeves, Chad Stahelski and producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee have found a story that they want to tell.

When one considers the box office performance of John Wick: Chapter 4, this isn’t the most shocking development – even with acknowledging the death of the eponymous hero. The 2023 sequel was the biggest hit yet for the series, as it finished its run at the box office earning over $440 million worldwide (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum previously set the franchise high water mark making $326.7 million in 2019.

Needless to say, John Wick: Chapter 5 is a project that we here at CinemaBlend will be keeping a close eye on as it continues to move through development.

Caine Is Getting His Own Movie, And Donnie Yen Will Both Star And Direct

One of the key reasons why John Wick: Chapter 4 was such a massive success with both critics and audiences was the exciting franchise addition of Donnie Yen as the blind, hyper-skilled assassin Caine, and it was announced today that the hype has been translated into a spinoff film. A new spinoff simply titled Caine is now in the works, and it is coming together very fast.

Donnie Yen will not only be back to star in the upcoming action movie set in the world of John Wick, but he is also going to direct it as well. Yen last provided an update about the film earlier this year, but the project now has the greenlight, and production is going to start in Hong Kong in 2025.

Mattson Tomlin, best known for creating the Netflix animated series Terminator Zero, has been tapped to write the screenplay for the film. The filmmaker’s other upcoming projects include The Batman Part II, which is being written in collaboration with director Matt Reeves, and BRZRKR, which is based on the comic of the same name and has Keanu Reeves attached to star.

Details about the story are being kept a secret for now, but it has been confirmed that Caine will be taking place after the events of John Wick: Chapter 4 and the titular protagonist earning his freedom from the sinister assassin organization known as the High Table. The character was originally going to be killed by Rina Sawayama’s Akira in the end credits of the last John Wick movie, but an audible was called to spare the character’s life, and that has opened the door for the spinoff.

A John Wick Animated Prequel Is Going To Tell The Story Of John’s Impossible Task

While both John Wick: Chapter 5 and Caine will both be expanding the John Wick canon beyond the events of John Wick: Chapter 4, Lionsgate also announced a new film that will be exploring the past. While the project seemingly doesn’t have an official title just yet, an animated prequel movie has been given the green light, and it will tell the story of the legendary Impossible Task that Keanu Reeves’ character completed so that he could leave the assassin life behind and live a life of peace with his wife.

Shannon Tindle, who most recently co-wrote and directed the Netflix animated film Ultraman: Rising, is taking the helm of the developing film and collaborating with screenwriter Vanessa Taylor, who was a co-executive producer on the second and third seasons of Game Of Thrones and co-wrote Guillermo del Toro’s Best Picture-winning 2017 film The Shape Of Water.

In an official statement, Chad Stahelski (who is a producer on the project) described the developing prequel feature as a “John Wick anime” – which informs us about the animation style that will be employed – and Keanu Reeves will be back to voice the movie’s lead character.

A release date for the animated John Wick prequel has not been announced.

Clearly the future of the action franchise is quite bright, and we will continue to follow all of the big developments with these three movies in the weeks, months and years ahead. Audiences will be able to see the next story in the canon, Ballerina, when it arrives in theaters everywhere on June 6, and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend in the coming days for more exciting news out of CinemaCon.

During the first John Wick movie, Keanu Reeves’ title character spends some time with John Leguizamo’s Aurelio, the owner of a chop shop who tipped off to the main protagonist that Iosev Tarasov stole his car. Leguizamo briefly reprised his role in John Wick: Chapter 2, but he hasn’t been seen in this exceptional action franchise since then. Unfortunately, the actor’s latest Wick-related update doesn’t bode well for him playing Aurelio again, though I still hope something can be worked out, because there’s some unresolved business involving his character that needs to be addressed.

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. While speaking to Collider about his new 2025 movie Bob Trevino Likes It, Leguizamo had this to say when asked about if we’ll see him appear in another John Wick movie:

There are a handful of deleted scenes featuring Aurelio on the John Wick: Chapter 2 home release, including where he meets face-to-face with Santino D’Antonio, the movie’s main antagonist. But on top of that, it sounds like there was even more material that was written for John Leguizamo that didn’t make it into the final version. It sounds like this remains a sort spot for him, and when it was suggested he could reprise Aurelio to return John Wick’s car, he responded:

Look, I can understand why Leguizamo is still irritated by how his role in John Wick: Chapter 2 was trimmed down. And obviously he has no say whether he’s included in another John Wick movie even if he was amenable to it, that’s only going to happen if the creative team gets in touch with him. But on the subject of that car, I really hope Leguizamo changes his mind if he’s contacted, because I really need that Chapter 2 plot thread to be resolved.

In case you need a refresher, John Wick’s Boss 429 Mustang was badly damaged during his mission to liberate it from Abram Tarasov. John called Aurelio over to his house to see if the car could be fixed, and Aurelio confirmed he could make it happened, though he joked about it won’t be ready until Christmas 2030. See for yourself:

Unfortunately, Chapter 2 ended with John going on the run with a $14 million bounty on his head and being declared excommunicado. Two movies later, and Chapter 4 ends with John presumed dead. It’s open and shut, right? Why should we entertain the possibility of Aurelio coming back?

Well, because apparently John Wick: Chapter 5 is indeed happening, despite the fact that Keanu Reeves once said his knees couldn’t handle it. If it turns out that John is alive, then it’s about time that he gets his car back, and we need Aurelio for that to happen. Or, if Chapter 5 doesn’t end up moving forward, maybe John Leguizamo could revisit his character in one of the spinoff projects, like Donnie Yen’s Caine movie or the TV series focused on the High Table.

The point being, while I get that Leguizamo isn’t keen on returning to the world of John Wick and there’s no indication that’s even a possibility, I hope something can be arranged to the contrary. John’s car has been collecting dust for too long, and whether he gets behind the wheel again for someone else, it wouldn’t be right for anyone to hand over they keys but Aurelio. And while we’re at it, let’s finally delve into his backstory!

When it comes to upcoming action movies on the 2025 movie schedule, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is arguably one of the biggest titles. Fans have been treated to a number of looks at the Ana de Armas-led flick thus far and just received their latest during a virtual trailer event from Lionsgate. I tuned in for the proceedings and can honestly say it was the wildest launch for new footage of any kind that I’ve ever seen. And, as eventful as it was, I’m curious as to whether Mr. Wick himself would’ve been able to sit through it.

The event in question for the highly anticipated Ballerina, which was billed as the Fire vs. Ice Launch, streamed live early Wednesday morning on X. It began with a countdown clock, during which fans were chosen to receive a prize or “bounty.” The launch began in earnest with a quick introduction from Ana de Armas, before the action shifted to a dark room with a monitor surrounded by blocks of ice. Also in the vicinity was a person holding a flamethrower, like De Armas uses in the movie.

As explained, the goal of the user-fueled event is for all the blocks of ice to be melted so that the new trailer can be revealed. Fans help to make that happen by hitting the fire emoji constantly at the specified time to fuel the flame meter. With that, the person with the flamethrower is able to cut through a new layer. If this all sound too wild to be true, know that it really happened, and you can check out an image below:

On top of that, there was an incentive for fans to join in the festivities. Above the screen was also a gauge indicating access to new bounties. So, as the person with the flamethrower came closer to penetrating the ice, fans reached a new opportunity to claim a prize like a Continental coin used in the film or ice skates signed by the film’s lead actress. The ultimate “bounty” was a trip to London for the movie’s world premiere, and fans had to compete for such prizes by typing in a term at the specified time:

I have to give it to Lionsgate that this is definitely a creative way to market a film, to say the least. However, considering the event as a whole lasting nearly 50 minutes, it did run quite long. In my experience, a number of trailer launches usually don’t last too long, though they admittedly aren’t as grandiose as this one. It would’ve been easy for fans to become somewhat impatient, and I’d imagine that Keanu Reeves’ Wick would’ve been the same. After all, the character, as intuitive as he is, definitely isn’t one to sit around too long.

Nevertheless, I’d wager that fans are still excited to see what the latest entry in the saga of John Wick films has to offer. Set in between the events of the third and fourth films in the main series, Ballerina centers around Ana de Armas’ Eve Macarro, an assassin who seeks to avenge her father’s death. That mission puts her in conflict with dangerous forces, including the Baba Yaga himself. Check out the new trailer below:

It’s cool to see both Eve and Wick share the screen, and the fight between them should be quite a spectacle. (Keanu Reeves’ return should also serve as some kind of comfort for fans who’ve been craving for him to return for a fifth Wick film.) As for the event that unveiled this new footage, it’s hard to say just how effective it’ll be as a marketing tool. Though I can say I’ll surely never forget it either way.

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina opens in theaters on June 6, and I have a feeling it’s going to be straight fire. (Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.)

For the past decade or so, countless action thrillers have arrived in theaters or on the best streaming services and have been compared to John Wick. Similar to the “Speed on a [insert mode of transportation]” trope of the 1990s, the “John Wick in [insert setting or situation]” concept has taken the world by storm. The 2025 Netflix movie, Demon City, has been compared to the Keanu Reeves action franchise, but I think it has more in common with another, bloodier, revenge thriller.

I recently watched Demon City with my Netflix subscription, and though it wasn’t the best 2025 movie I’ve watched so far, this brutal, blood-soaked revenge saga had me wanting to watch one of the most violent and messed-up movies of the 21st century: Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy.

Demon City Is A Brutal Revenge Thriller With A Whole Lot Of Lore And Mystery

SPOILER ALERT: The following sections contain major spoilers for Demon City. If you’ve yet to watch Netflix’s new action movie, please exercise extreme caution.

There was a lot to love about Demon City, Seiji Tanaka’s stripped-down adaptation of the iconic Onigoroshi manga series, but the best thing about the outrageously violent movie is the brutal story of revenge at its core. Toma Ikuta’s Sakata, a former yakuza hitman framed for the deaths of his wife and daughter before being left to die, is a spectre-like figure who comes out of a vegetative state after 12 years to enact revenge against a group of very powerful men hiding their identities behind traditional Japanese demon masks. And boy, does he get his revenge…

Over the course of the movie’s nearly two-hour runtime, Sakata kills wave after wave of armed goons, henchmen, and high-level gangsters as he attempts to avenge both his family and a life that could have been. As he works his way to the top of the proverbial food chain of Shingo City’s criminal underbelly, he learns much about his attackers, their supporters, and those he once thought were his friends.

But, on top of all that, Demon City has a whole lot of lore and mystery. At times, it feels like a great Japanese horror movie with talk of a wayward demon in Shingo who has long sought a proper vessel so that they can help them make the evildoers of the city pay for their transgressions.

I Can See Where The John Wick Comparisons Are Coming From, Both With The Story And Action

There are a ton of articles all over the internet saying Demon City is comparable to the John Wick movies, with outlets like Total Film (via GamesRadar) writing that “fans might find themselves in familiar territory” with the new Japanese action thriller. And I can totally see it.

Both movies follow hitmen of few words who wanted nothing more than to put a life of contract killings behind them and enjoy time with their respective families before being thrown back into the action following severe tragedies. Demon City and John Wick both have a series of increasingly violent and well-choreographed fight and action sequences that up the ante for the genre. And both stories center on revenge.

Demon City has more in common with John Wick than it doesn’t, but there’s another movie that I kept thinking about throughout my viewing, one that’s a whole lot more messed up than anything Keanu Reeves has been involved in over the years.

But Honestly, I Think It Has More In Common With Old Boy

Demon City is a Japanese action movie in which the hero may or may not be possessed by a demon, and Oldboy is a Korean thriller about a man trying to figure out why he’s been imprisoned in a hotel room for 15 years, but I couldn’t stop comparing the two during my viewing. Not only are both films brilliant revenge stories about crazed men going to hell and back (again and again) to find answers and get vengeance, but they are also two of the most incredibly violent movies I’ve ever seen.

These movies, above all, are gratuitously violent and don’t pull a single punch from start to finish. Blood being splattered on walls, kids getting shot, body parts being cut off, bad guys dying in terrifying ways. There are these long and elaborate fight sequences that go on forever, but never become boring, exhausting, or overdone, which is a rare feat in cinema. And, with both being great movies based on comic books, the comparisons just keep coming.

Then there's the whole business with both movies being about fathers reconnecting with their daughters. It's just that Demon City never goes as extreme as Oldboy, which I was happy to see.

Demon City's Ending Isn't As Unnerving As Oldboy, But That's Pretty Much Impossible

As I mentioned above, Demon City and Oldboy have father-daughter relationships at their core. While the former never comes close to touching the levels of heartbreak, anguish, and disgust as the latter, this doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have some messed up stuff going on.

To this day, the Oldboy reveal, which I won’t disclose for the sake of my own sanity and to not to ruin the twist for the uninitiated, is one of the most messed up endings of all time. It would be next to impossible for Demon City to outdo that truly gut-wrenching and traumatizing moment, or even come close for that matter. In fact, maybe that's for the best.

A Colleague Also Compared Demon City To The Crow, And Now I Can't Stop Thinking About That

Just before I started writing this, a colleague messaged me and drew a comparison between Demon City and The Crow (the 1994 Brandon Lee movie, not the 2024 travesty). And you know, ever since he mentioned that, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how much the two movies have in common. Both center on anti-heroes who were essentially brought back from the dead due to some supernatural entities, both are grueling revenge thrillers, and both are dark as hell.

Perhaps in the future I’ll go back and do a point-by-point breakdown of the two and how many ideas and concepts they share. Until next time…

Demon City was one of the biggest surprises of the year so far, and it’s not just because it made me think about Oldboy for the first time in a very long time.

Keanu Reeves has plenty of badass characters on his resume, but there’s one that arguably towers above the rest – John Wick. It’s not hard to make that assertion, considering just how awesome the veteran hitman is throughout the four films in his eponymous franchise. His enduring popularity is a major reason why fans and pundits alike have been hounding Reeves about whether he’ll reprise the role for a fifth film. So far, he has answered the queries gracefully, but I really love the actor’s latest batch of honest thoughts.

Considering just how profitable the IP has become, it’s understandable as to why fans keep asking about the possibility of a John Wick 5. Keanu Reeves, who has been keeping himself occupied with other ventures as of late, recently fielded a question about it while talking to Extra TV. When sharing thoughts on the potential return of the Baba Yaga, the actor simply referred to the character’s fate at the end of the latest installment:

In cases like these, plenty of big stars would probably be more ambiguous when it comes to speculating on the future of a massive franchise. That’s certainly not the case when it comes to this Canadian actor, though. He’s not beading around the bush or playing with fans’ emotions. I appreciate the fact he pointed out that Chapter 4’s ending seemingly depicts Wick’s death. This may not be the answer some franchise devotees want to hear but, at the very least, you have to admire the fact that the leading man didn’t mince words.

Keanu Reeves did, still, refer to the fact that in Hollywood, comebacks for famous characters are indeed possible, and that’s truly been the case in the era of reboots and legacy sequels. This situation is a bit more delicate, though, considering just how much goes into making the John Wick movies, from a physicality standpoint. While previously addressing the possibility of another film, 60-year-old Reeves shared a raw response, asserting that he’d never say never but that his knees were telling him otherwise.

Fear not, though, fans, as the character is set to make at least one more appearance on the big screen. The character is set to return in a spinoff film, which takes place during the events of Wick Chapters 3 and 4. Said film is going to hit the 2025 movie schedule, and the Bill & Ted actor seems quite enthused:

The long-awaited Ballerina thrusts Ana de Armas into the lead role of assassin Eve Macarro and, based on the footage that’s been shown thus far, the flick looks crazy in the best possible ways. Still, it’s understandable as to why fans might miss seeing John Wick himself in the lead. It’s certainly not impossible that Keanu Reeves might reprise the role down the road but, for now, he seems more relaxed fighting off sequel questions than dangerous thugs.

Movies have been prominently featuring video games going all the way back to the dawn of the gaming industry in the 1970s. Movies like Tron and The Last Starfighter made them central to the plot, while others like Swingers and The Avengers found ways to create some great moments around. Our list of movies with great video game moments has both.

Tron

Tron has become one of the most enduring franchises of the last half century, despite only having limited released. It was one of the first movies to truly incorporate video games and gaming directing into the plot. Not only does the protagonist (Jeff Bridges) own an arcade and play games himself, his avatar plays inside the Master Control

The Princess Bride

You might not think of this fairy tale as a video game movie, but you have to remember that first scene. As the grandson, played by Fred Savage, recovers in bed, home sick from school, he's playing a baseball video. At least until his grandfather shows up with a magical book called The Princess Bride. .

John Wick

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) isn't the kind of guy who would spend a lot of time playing video games, but those rich idiots who he is after are certainly the types that would pay more attention to a first-person shooter game than the shooter who is out to get them and get them Wick does.

Fast Times At Ridgemont High

Everything cool in Fast Times At Ridgemont High happens at the mall, including the arcade. There isn't a movie that is more quintessential to the '80s high school life than the Amy Heckerling-directed classic. That includes a few scenes in the mall's arcade, including the last shot in the movie declaring the end of the movie.

The Last Starfighter

For a lot of kids in the 1980s, The Last Starfighter represented a dream that maybe there is more to being great at video games than just getting to put your initials on the home screen. Maybe, just maybe, you might get chosen to be an intergalactic pilot. It's why the movie is so fondly remembered by any kid who grew up playing Galaga.

Boyz N The Hood

Even movies about the untold violence on the streets in South Central LA have found a way to work video games in, as they are truly ubiquitous. Take, for example, the more ominous tone of kids playing Duck Hunt on Nintendo with a very real-looking video game gun. It's hard to watch after knowing how things end and viewers are hyper-aware of that gun, toy or not.

Ready Player One

There is no doubt that Ready Player One has to be on this list. Of course, the whole world it creates is basically a giant game. Plus, games from the past, from the early days of home consoles and arcades play a big part in the quest everyone on earth is undertaking in the movie and serve to drive the plot at numerous times.

WarGames

Global Thermal Nuclear War is, in theory, a game in WarGames. Not only does the game serve as a central plot point, but the world is saved by playing any other video game based on tic-tac-toe. Oh, and there is a scene early in the movie where David (Matthew Broderick) is playing Space Invaders and it doesn't get more classic than that.

The Avengers

"That man is playing Galaga," has to be one of Tony Stark's best lines in the entire MCU. It comes in The Avengers as the team is assembling and getting ready to save the world, yet some people on the crew of the invisible flying base clearly have enough time on their hands for a quick game of a classic game.

Swingers

For anyone who played endless amounts of NHL hockey on Sega in the '90s, there is no more realistic or funnier scene than the one in Swingers when Sue (Patrick Van Horn) and Trent (Vince Vaughn) come to blows over a game before they go out for the night. It's pretty much exactly how that game was played for years.

The Karate Kid

Video games don't play a huge role in The Karate Kid, but they are important. Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Ali (Elizabeth Shue) really start flirting and she blows him while playing one in an arcade when their relationship starts to blossom.

Back to the Future Part II

One of the most memorable scenes in Back to the Future Part II comes when Marty (Micheal J. Fox) looks behind him while in the future to see an arcade game called Wild Gunman. When he tries to impress a couple of kids by being a "crack shot," the kids basically laugh the game off as a game for babies, because you have to use your hands. Honestly, it's not that far off from how things would turn out.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

it's funny, even in the early '90s, arcades, which were already almost obsoete, were still used to represent what "bad kids" did, like a teenage John Connor (Edward Furlough) in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. John and his buddy are hanging out at the arcade, getting into trouble, when the Terminator locates them for the first time.

Maximum Overdrive

You can't make a movie about the machine's coming "alive" without having a harrowing scene involving some arcade games. As bad as Maximum Overdrive is, it is filled with memorable scenes like the one when the games attack a character played by a young Giancarlo Esposito.

Jaws

Video games have been popping up in movies since way back in 1976 when kids are seen playing a game called "Killer Shark" at beach arcade on Amity Island.

Mallrats

Another classic home console moment from a '90s movie comes in the Kevin Smith-directed Mallrats. Brody is a shiftless layabout and his girlfriend, played by the late Shannen Doherty, is sick of it. Her feelings are completely justified when the first thing he does is pick up with his paused game from the night before. Granted, he was excited about his big lead in the hockey game, which many will understand.

Dawn Of The Dead

In the early days of arcades, pinball was a big part of the appeal. It's a pinball machine in an arcade that makes the biggest impression in one of the best horror movies of all time, Dawn Of The Dead from 1978.

Superbad

Video game scenes in movies often reflect a pretty accurate moments in real life. Like the scene in Superbad when Seth (Jonah Hill) is stressing about a party and Evan (Michael Sera) couldn't care less as he is distracted by his game. That sums up a lot of people's nights (and friendships) in high school.

Airplane!

No movie packs in more jokes per minute than Airplane! One of those jokes, includes two air traffic controllers playing a basketball video game when they should be landing planes. It's a funny joke, but a terrifying thought, right?

The Wrestler

The Wrestler is an amazing movie about a washed up pro wrestler (Mickey Rourke) who finds some version of a family, at least briefly and bonds with Pam (Marisa Tomei) and her son. In a heartwarming moment, he plays a wrestling video game against Pam's son.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

To be fair, the video game moment in Ferris Bueller's Day Off is fleeting but memorable. Principle Rooney (Jeffery Jones), on his quest to find Ferris (Matthew Broderick) encounters a person who he thinks is Ferris playing an arcade game. Of course, it's not Ferris, and in return for his mistake, Rooney gets a straw full of soda to the face.

Shaun Of The Dead

There is nothing quite like roommates playing video games together to make someone nostalgic for...well... having a roommate. For millions of people, it's a rite of passage to blow off work or school and spend the day going toe-to-toe in a video game battle.

Scott Pilgrim V. The World

Games like Dance Dance Revolution were all the rage in 2010, when Scott Pilgrim V. The World was released worldwide. Of course, a game like Dance Dance Revolution would be included in the movie, in one of the scenes before everything goes sideways for the protagonist. It's a sweet scene that really endears the audience to Scott (Michael Cera).

Zombieland

It turns out that Michael Cera plays a lot of characters who love video games. They aren't the main focus of any of his movies, but still, in movies like Zombieland, he's often seen playing them. In Zombieland, it's World of Warcraft.

Grosse Pointe Blank

"First-person shooter" takes on a new meaning in Grosse Pointe Blank when the clerk at the convenience store that was once Martin Blank's house is oblivious to the actual shooting going on behind him as he listens to metal and shoots enemies in the game. Finally, he has to be pulled from the store by Martin (John Cusack) moments before it explodes. Anyone who has played games knows how they can be that engrossing.

The Wizard

The Wizard, starring Fred Savage is... not a great movie, and it reeks of corporatism (it was basically a big commercial for Nintendo), but we couldn't make this list without it. It was a time when Nintendo had completely redefined the video game market with their hit console, the NES. It makes total sense that the hype would lead to a movie and completely predictable that it would be a bad movie.

Lost In Translation

Japanese arcades are completely awesome. It's a culture that did last in America but has been going strong in Japan since the beginning. As such, it's a wonder addition to Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation as part of what makes the cultures so different and fascinating to Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson).

Never Say Never Again

It's true, even James Bond was part of the 1980s video game fad. Well, sort of. Bond (Sean Connery) plays a wild video game with real-life consequences in Never Say Never Again, which is why we say "sort of," because the movie, though not the worst Bond movie, is definitely not Bond canon and not one of the best Connery-Era Bond films.

Superman III

When ranking the Superman movies, Superman III is usually at or near the bottom of the list. It's a bad movie, but it does have a hilarious Superman video game that we all wished we could play when we were kids. It's really the only good part of a movie that even Richard Pryor couldn't make funny or fun.

The Thing

Some of Kurt Russell's best lines in his movies come from The Thing, and he also has a moment or two as he tries to save himself from destructive boredom by playing an early version of computer chess. Chess has long been a staple game going back to the dawn of the first home computers, so it worked well in the time period.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Like some other scenes on this list, the scene between Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd playing Mortal Kombat Deception is pretty much exactly how video game arguments went at the time, completely with the slurs we would never use today (and shouldn't have been using back in the day, but were).

Joysticks

We're really only including this silly, raunchy B-movie because it was kind of the first movie to truly be about the first video game fad of the late 1970s, though it came out just as the fad was imploding with the Video Game Crash of 1983. Even the movie's timing was bad, but still, it's all about games, so it has to be here on this list.

Some of the most amusing and iconic characters in cinematic history happen to show up the least in their respective films. Even more disappointing is when an already popular character’s involvement in a film is significantly reduced from their previous appearances.

And, then, there are those characters whose opportunity to become something special is ruined by, not just a lack of screen time but a lack of anything to substantially serve the story with. We cover them all in this list of movie roles who deserved more.

Boba Fett (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back)

It is a wonder how this galactic bounty hunter (originally portrayed by Jeremy Bulloch and voiced by Jason Wingreen) became such a wildly revered Star Wars character as he does very little in his appearances in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Even when Temeura Morrison inherited the character for Disney+'s miniseries, The Book of Boba Fett, he was upstaged by Pedro Pascal's title character of the show it was spun off from, The Mandalorian.

Raoul Silva (Skyfall)

Academy Award winner Javier Bardem’s brilliant performance as elusive cyber-terrorist Raoul Silva in 2012's Skyfall comes in pretty late into the plot. While the payoff to the preceding buildup is effective, the otherwise acclaimed Daniel Craig-era James Bond film could have potentially benefitted from more of his cat-and-mouse game with 007.

Beth March (Little Women)

Writer and director Greta Gerwig's Oscar-nominated Little Women is considered one of the strongest adaptations yet of Louis May Alcott’s celebrated 1868 novel. However, even its most adoring fans may agree that the March Sister who gets the least time to shine in the 2019 period drama is Beth, portrayed by Eliza Scanlen.

Clubber Lang (Rocky III)

With all the great characters who would recur in the Rocky movies, it is hard to believe that Clubber Lang is not one of them. Mr. T gives such an intense and mesmerizing performance as Sylvester Stallone's onscreen opponent in the 1982 sequel that deserved a later reprise in some way, shape, or form.

Frozone (The Incredibles)

Bob "Mr. Incredible" Parr’s (Craig T. Nelson) best friend and former partner-in-crimefighting, Lucius, better known as Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), is given the chance to show off his abilities in a few memorable moments from 2004’s The Incredibles. However, the ice-powered superhero deserved a more integral role in the acclaimed Pixar movie that could have provided a more solid and justified build-up toward his return from retirement in the final showdown.

Donny Kerabatsos (The Big Lebowski)

The joke about Steve Buscemi’s character in Joel and Ethan Coen’s beloved cult favorite comedy, 1998’s The Big Lebowski, is that he is rarely given a chance to speak by Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) for mysterious reasons. However, after finally learning more about Donny after his death from Walter’s impassioned eulogy, we wish we could have seen just a little bit more of his life.

The Five Wives (Mad Max: Fury Road)

One thing that makes George Miller’s 2015 post-apocalyptic thriller one of the best action movies of all time is what it consciously chooses to remain a mystery. However, what actually could have used more exposition in Mad Max: Fury Road is the group of young women (played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Zoë Kravitz, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, and Courtney Eaton) whom Tom Hardy’s title role and Furiosa (Charlize Theron) are racing to protect from Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne).

Batman (The Dark Knight)

Ironically, the most acclaimed installment of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy of live-action Batman movies, 2008’s The Dark Knight, is the one that makes Bruce Wayne’s alter ego (Christian Bale) the least interesting character. Actually, one could argue the same thing about Tim Burton’s DC films, 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns, despite many believing that Michael Keaton is the best Batman actor yet.

Sloane Peterson (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

The core and most important relationship in John Hughes’ hilarious 1986 high school movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, is undeniably that of the eponymous troublemaker (Matthew Broderick) and his best friend, Cameron Fry (Alan Ruck). However, we should still know a little more about Ferris' girlfriend, Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara), than we do, which is not much at all.

Darth Maul (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace)

Even the most casual fans of the Star Wars movies would likely agree that Ray Park's Sith Lord was killed off way too soon and should have appeared in at least one follow-up to 1999's Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Thus, Darth Maul's return in subsequent animated series and a scene from 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story is one of the few widely accepted retcons in pop culture history.

Charon (John Wick)

It is the late Lance Reddick's performance as Charon that made the minor role in 2014's John Wick so intriguing. However, it was not until 2019's Chapter 3 - Parabellum that we finally got just how hard-boiled the Continental's loyal concierge can be.

The Joker (Suicide Squad)

Many audiences might argue that Jared Leto’s iteration of The Clown Prince of Crime could have used even less screen time in 2016’s Suicide Squad. However, there are a few DC fans who believe the Oscar winner had the potential to make a better impression than he did – as evidenced by his appearance in the recut Zack Snyder’s Justice League – and, perhaps, should have been the main villain instead of a wasted B-plot.

Michael Myers (Halloween Ends)

While marketed as an epic final showdown between the quintessential horror movie Final Girl, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney), 2022's Halloween Ends instead focused largely on the tarnished reputation of a new character named Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell) and his ill-fated romance with Laurie granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak). With very little screentime for the aging masked boogeyman, the finale to director David Gordon Green’s requel trilogy ended on a severely divisive note.

Boo (Monsters, Inc.)

Much of Boo's backstory is left a mystery, which is why it would have been appreciated to see her return in a sequel to Monsters Inc. instead of the otherwise well-received prequel, Monsters University. Not to mention, what happened to the adorable interdimensional traveler after she returned to her world? There had to have been an intense search for her during the many hours she was gone.

Ned Ryerson (Groundhog Day)

Stephen Tobolowsky’s annoying insurance agent deserved more to do than, essentially, repeat the exact same thing in his brief appearances in the hilarious 1993 time loop movie, Groundhog Day. On the other hand, the popular, bizarre fan theory that Ned Ryerson is really the Devil in disguise and the orchestrator of Phil Connors’ (Bill Murray) insane predicament is proof that the character has achieved icon status.

The Salesman (Sin City)

Perhaps Josh Hartnett’s contract killer, who seems to specialize in assisted suicide, is used the right amount in directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's visually astonishing comic book thriller, Sin City. Then again, the 2005 film noir favorite could have dropped a couple more hints and teases to his story to give "The Salesman" an even more memorable role.

Blanche (Drive)

Considering she was played by an actor who resembles a sultry, Silver Age femme fatale, Christina Hendricks’ role in Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2011 neo-noir thriller could have been iconic. Perhaps she could have if Blanche was given more than a page’s worth of dialogue in her three scenes from Drive.

Kaecilius (Doctor Strange)

When you cast an actor who has absolutely mastered the art of portraying villainy like Mads Mikkelsen as your antagonist, you better give him enough material to deliver. Unfortunately, the vengeful sorcerer Kaecilius is mostly an afterthought in the MCU’s Doctor Strange – the origin story of Benedict Cumberbatch’s surgeon-turned-Sorcerer Supreme – and is an even less memorable villain than Dormammu, who only shows up for one fun scene.

Scrat (Ice Age)

He was the face of the marketing for, arguably, Blue Sky Studios’ best-animated movie but is treated as an afterthought, appearing in funny interstitial bits outside of the main storyline. At least Scrat (whose name, a combination of “squirrel” and “rat,” is never even explicitly mentioned in any of the Ice Age movies) got to be the star of his own short spin-offs.

Dracula (Renfield)

Obviously, the star of director Chris McKay's 2022 horror-comedy movie is Dracula’s eponymous familiar, Renfield (Nicholas Hoult). However, the film does not spend quite enough time exploring his one-sided, abusive relationship with the ruthless vampire, who is portrayed brilliantly by Nicolas Cage.

Emma Watson (This Is The End)

A fictionalized version of the Harry Potter movies’ Hermione Granger actor only shows up for one scene in This is the End, in which she assumes a house full of male celebrities have ill intentions for her. Yet, it would have been fun to see much more of Emma Watson and her skills with an axe against the nightmarish circumstances outside in Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s 2014 post-apocalyptic comedy.

Gorr The Godbutcher (Thor: Love And Thunder)

Some fans of the Marvel movies might say that Christian Bale’s vengeful antagonist is the best thing about Taika Waititi’s follow-up to Thor: Ragnarok. Unfortunately, Gorr the Godbutcher's screentime in 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder is, much like the tragic deaths of his family, not justified.

Helga Sinclair (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

In one of the best Disney animated movies from the 2000s, 2001's Atlantis: The Lost Empire, ambitious linguist Milo Thatch (voiced by Michael J. Fox) is recruited onto an expedition to find the eponymous fabled kingdom by the wealthy Preston Whitmore (John Mahoney). His personal assistant, the attractive Lt. Helga Sinclair (Claudia Christian) is considered the secondary antagonist of the story but boasts far more charisma than the main villain, Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke (James Garner).

Sandman (Spider-Man 3)

The final installment of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy is one of the most essential examples of the superhero movie genre's “too many villains” trope, with three villains fighting for screen time. The one with the most engaging and sympathetic arc – and, thus, the one who, arguably, should have been the only antagonist – is Flint "Sandman" Marko (Thomas Haden Church), whose biological makeup becomes bonded with sand after a bizarre accident.

Wizard (Taxi Driver)

The most deeply underrated character in director Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver is easily Peter Boyle's Wizard. The wise veteran cabbie is one of the few characters in the bleak 1976 drama whom Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) could genuinely call a friend and, perhaps, if he was around more, he could have helped steer the disturbed former marine in a more favorable direction.

Boris Podgorny (The Fabelmans)

Judd Hirsch’s Academy Award nomination for portraying a fictionalized version of director Steven Spielberg’s granduncle in 2022's The Fabelmans was well deserved. What the character, Boris Podgorny, really deserved, however, was to play a larger role in the story, as long as it would be accurate to the semi-autobiographical story that the esteemed filmmaker was crafting.

Luna Lovegood (The Harry Potter Movies)

Evanna Lynch portrays Luna Lovegood – a refreshingly positive fan-favorite character from J.K. Rowling’s magical Harry Potter novels. However, most fans of the Wizarding World would argue that the Ravenclaw was significantly underutilized in the blockbuster film adaptations.

Jeff Portnoy (Tropic Thunder)

The famously animated Jack Black has higher billing than Robert Downey Jr.'s Academy Award-nominated role in the cast of 2008's Tropic Thunder. Yet, his role as Jeff Portnoy – an unhinged comedian attempting a serious war movie – gets the least amount of screentime or material to work with in star and director Ben Stiller’s hilarious Hollywood satire.

Lady Sif (Thor)

One of the most heavily underrated MCU characters is Lady Sif, who has appeared in every one of Thor's solo movies but only briefly. We might go so far as to say that Jaimie Alexander’s portrayal of the Asgardian Goddess of War should have her own solo movie, or at least deserves a more substantial role in the franchise.

Rhino (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)

Paul Giamatti’s cinematic iteration of the Spider-Man villain, Rhino, makes his grand entrance at the end of the widely reviled sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and was supposed to have a bigger role in a third installment starring Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker. Of course, the poor reception to the 2014 film led to the cancellation of the follow-up before Tom Holland stepped in to play the MCU-canon webslinger.

Officer Benjamin Clawhauser (Zootopia)

Voiced by Nate Torrence, the doughnut-chomping Officer Benjamin Clawhauser is about the funniest character from 2016's Zootopia. For that reason alone, the tiger deserves a more integral role in the family-friendly police dramedy about anthropomorphic animals.

Garraka (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire)

The fifth installment of the Ghostbusters franchise gets its subtitle (Frozen Empire) from the main antagonist's power to create a second Ice Age. However, said malevolent entity, Garraka, officially shows up far too late in the 2024 sequel's runtime.

Life is full of choices, and there’s always pressure to choose the right option - no matter how small the matter. In the examples we're about to discuss, it only took one bad call to lead to unnecessary drama, and in some cases, death. While not all of them are tragic, beware of some old wounds that may be opened up in the process.

Mayor Larry Vaughn Keeps Amity’s Beaches Open - Jaws

Ok, let’s just get this out of the way: Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) should have never won re-election. Amity Beach’s big wheel politician should have been legislative dust after keeping the beaches open in Jaws. Yes, beach towns depend on revenues from summer tourists - but if there’s no surviving tourists that want to shop, is it really a win?

Dr. Mann’s Hasty Docking With The Endurance - Interstellar

Scientific minds are supposed to be among the smartest and most rational in the world, especially if you’ve been chosen to colonize a potential new home for Humanity. That fact just makes the manner of death that befalls Interstellar’s Dr. Mann (Matt Damon) all the more fitting. Perhaps one should check that the airlock seals are properly aligned before launching into a speech about “all mankind.”

Rose Leaves Jack To Freeze - Titanic

Ok, so Kate Winslet’s 2024 Titanic revelation that it wasn’t a door Rose DeWitt Bukater was clinging to for life kind of changes the equation of whether or not she could have saved Jack Dawson. That being said, it still doesn’t change the fact that people are going to argue there was still room on “the door” for old Jack.

Peter Quill Socks Thanos On The Brink Of Victory - Avengers: Infinity War

Every time someone watches the Marvel movies in order, this moment, in particular, is the definition of an "own goal." As Avengers: Infinity War almost saw the reason for a second half nullified by taking the Infinity Gauntlet away from Thanos, a moment of emotion from the ever-impulsive Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) allowed the Mad Titan to keep his magic glove, and get away.

Marty McFly Buys Gray’s Sports Almanac - Back To The Future: Part II

Oh Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox). Even when you’re greedy, you’re just trying to protect the future. While our lessons in how Back to the Future’s time travel works have taught us time and again that fooling with the past is dangerous, Marty’s decision to buy Gray’s Sports Almanac was one of the greatest mistakes in pop culture history. Who really wants to live in Biff Tannen’s alternate 1985?

Someone Read The Latin - The Evil Dead Movies

This is the movie most people think of when you hear the phrase, “Don’t read the Latin.” The Evil Dead series has seen Ash (Bruce Campbell) and many others learn that lesson the hard way, as a Deadite plague tends to result after this grievous error. What did they think was going to happen when reading from a book bound by human flesh?

Iosef Tarasov’s Gang Kill John Wick’s Dog - John Wick

Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) made two huge mistakes in the John Wick movies. The first was thinking that he could convince retired hitman John Wick to sell his 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429. The second, and more costly mistake, was to kill John’s dog, Daisy. The criminal underworld still hasn’t recovered from the actions of that night, so yeah: we’re thinking that’s a bad decision.

Walter Donovan Chooses Poorly - Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade

Who did you honestly put your money on when it came to winning Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’s game for the Holy Grail? A professor of archeology who has a similarly learned father, or an industrialist aiding the Nazis? If you bet on Walter Donavan (Julian Glover) winning the day, I think you know how the Grail Knight would comment on this particular choice.

Howard Ratner Can't Stop Winning - Uncut Gems

One has to wonder if A24 set up microphones during preview screenings of Uncut Gems if only to measure the decibel level of audience yelling. The moment when Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) makes what would be his final bet had to have been one where people shouted at the screen in terror - which would have only been outdone by shock at the picture’s fatalistic ending.

General Ripper Starts A Nuclear War - Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

If any of us normal people think something’s wrong with our bodies, we usually consult a specialist. But Dr. Strangelove’s General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) isn’t quite normal, as he decided to initiate “nuclear combat toe-to-toe with the Russkies,” using only a paranoid hunch as his basis. If only the internet had been invented, so WebMD could have debunked his theories.