The following contains spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 4, now in theaters.

The John Wick series now continues with its newest entry, John Wick: Chapter 4. But it isn't where the franchise will end, with another project and at least one spinoff in the works. However, the spinoff, Ballerina, might have a major issue, and it mirrors one experienced by a Phase Four Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.

Black Widow had been highly anticipated, but when it finally came out, many fans thought it was far too late. That was due mainly to the title character's death in a preceding movie, and it's an issue now replicated with the fourth John Wick. Here's why John Wick's spinoff film might be dancing to the wrong tune entirely.

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Black Widow Came Out Far Too Late

Black Widow became a major hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after her debut in Iron Man 2. Sadly, that and being a founding member of The Avengers wasn't enough to get her a solo movie for quite a while. Many felt that she should have had a film far before Captain Marvel was given one, and when Black Widow finally did strike out on her own adventure, it was retroactively too late. The Natasha Romanoff Black Widow had already died during the events of Avengers: Endgame. That was a major element in the film's story, but it meant bad news for Black Widow having her own movie.

Phase Four's first movie entry was Black Widow, and though it was a brand-new movie, it took place before the events of Endgame. In other words, the title character was already dead in the present, giving viewers little reason to care about the new prequel movie beyond it setting up a new Black Widow. After all the waiting, this situation was definitely a letdown. And now, the John Wick franchise seems to be making the same mistake with the upcoming spinoff Ballerina.

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John Wick: Chapter 4 Makes Ballerina Almost Pointless

John Wick behind Ana De Armas staring intensely.

Ballerina has been in the works for a while, but there's still no release date. That means it may be a few years before the John Wick spinoff even hits theaters, especially with the fourth film just now coming out. But given the events of John Wick: Chapter 4, that's a major mistake. The new movie saw John Wick seemingly die, giving the series a firm conclusion. There's still supposedly a fifth movie on the way, though this is now highly questionable. The same goes for Ballerina, which is coming out too late. It would have made more sense to release the movie before John Wick: Chapter 4 to further hype that movie up, especially since it takes place before it. But now, the interest in the project may be decreased due to Wick being dead, making the movie a bit less "must-see."

Beyond the same-day release on Disney+ and the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Widow was always going to be an uphill battle to have the average moviegoer interested in a film about a character that fans had just seen dramatically killed off. It's even worse for Ballerina, as Black Widow was at least a beloved character before. Ana de Armas' Ballerina wasn't a major character prior to the upcoming movie, let alone a major protagonist. With Wick himself gone, the interest in the spinoff could definitely be lower than it should have been, and it's all due to a predictably bad release window.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is now playing in theaters.