John Wick movies have operated with a rather condensed timeline overall, with the events of John Wick's life in the main series all happening within six months. That presents a somewhat unique challenge when it comes to expanding the series beyond Keanu Reeves' character, as Ballerina does. The movie is a standalone story following Ana de Armas' Eve Macarro as she seeks revenge on the people who killed her father.

As the franchise's first spinoff, there are understandably a lot of John Wick connections to Ballerina. Multiple actors from the franchise's previous installments return to play a role in Eve's story. Their appearances only create more questions about where the movie fits into the how Keanu Reeves returns in Ballerina despite John Wick's apparent death in John Wick: Chapter 4. The answers to when it is set in the franchise are already known - and it marks a change from earlier details about the movie's setting.

Ballerina Takes Place During John Wick 3 - Parabellum

The Spinoff Takes Place In 2014

It is officially confirmed that Ballerina takes place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, the 2019 threequel in the franchise. The confirmation came from the release of Ballerina's first trailer and the brief synopsis attached to it. The synopsis begins by saying, "Taking place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum," which leaves no doubt about when the spinoff movie is set. Based on the overall timeline, this would mean that Ballerina takes place in 2014, which is when John Wick returns to being the Baba Yaga.

The placement of Ballerina happening concurrently with John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum can be seen within the movie itself. There are scenes showing new perspectives on the events of John Wick 3, such as Eve watching John Wick as he visits The Director. Keanu Reeves' character even has the same cuts on his face in Ballerina as he did in the threequel, showing great attention to detail for the overall continuity. The movie's returning characters and overall story could include even more connections to John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parbellum.

Ballerina's Timeline Placement Changes Keanu Reeves' Original Plan

Ballerina's Spot In The Timeline Has Slightly Changed

With Lionsgate confirming Ballerina's spot in the John Wick timeline, it's worth noting that it makes a slight change to Keanu Reeves' original plan. The franchise star was consulted about where the movie would fit in the franchise's chronology to explain his cameo, and he stated in 2022 that the spinoff would be set between John Wick 3 and John Wick 4. It was thanks to Keanu Reeves' comment about Ballerina's timeline placement that the film was assumed to explore the franchise at a time when John Wick was recovering from John Wick 3's ending.

Shifting Ballerina to occur simultaneously as John Wick 3 instead of after it is not the biggest change. Thanks to the short amount of time that the main series has covered, the film's setting shifts by less than six months at most. It's also worth noting that the move likely was not made without consulting franchise director/producer Chad Stahelski - if not Keanu himself. That should ease any potential concerns that the new placement for Ballerina in the John Wick timeline causes issues with the overall continuity.

Part Of Ballerina's Story Predates The First John Wick

Ballerina Goes Back To An Earlier Point In The Timeline Too

The majority of Ballerina might take place during John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, but that is not the only part of the timeline that it expands. The movie includes an exploration of Eve's entire origin story, not just the main revenge mission. Her first encounter with Winston is included in the film, as is Eve's days of training under The Director before going out on her own. The latter events should overlap further with John Wick 3 and the other main movies, but Eve and Winston's meeting predates the first John Wick.

The TV prequel The Continental is the franchise's only project that has gone back further in the timeline

Ballerina shows Eve meeting Winston and becoming part of the Ruska Roma's assassin training program as a young girl after her father's death. While her exact age at that point is not confirmed, it's clearly something that takes place many years before the core story. This makes Ballerina's flashbacks to Eve's childhood the earliest point in the timeline the movies have explored. The TV prequel The Continental is the franchise's only project that has gone back further in the timeline. Ballerina exploring this universe before the first John Wick is quite notable, even if its not for the entire runtime.