Tag: Ballerina

Lionsgate has begun marketing John Wick: Chapter 4 with a trailer and stills ahead of its re March 2023 release. The creatives behind the franchise have already confirmed that work on a fifth chapter of the John Wick franchise is in the works but the popularity of the character and the deep mythology of the world has already resulted in the birth of a John Wick Cinematic Universe. Two spinoffs within that shared universe, The Continental and Ballerina, are already at various stages of development. Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas, began production last month and now word of a newsworthy addition to its cast has arrived.

According to Deadline, actor Gabriel Byrne has joined the cast of the Len Wiseman-helmed spinoff. Byrne’s role in the film, which will focus on de Armas’ Rooney, a ballerina/assassin who was briefly seen in John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum, was undisclosed in the report. Byrne joins Anjelica Huston, Norman Reedus and Lance Reddick as new members of the John Wick universe with Ian McShane reprising his role as Winston and Keanu Reeves is also expected to appear in the film, which takes place between Wick 3 and 4.

Ballerina currently has no release date but is expected to be ready for theaters by late 2023/early 2024.

Source: Deadline

We’ve already had quite a few reveals that some familiar faces will arrive in John Wick‘s first spinoff titled Ballerina. It’ll further expand the world filled with assassins that Keanu Reeves‘ first introduced us to back in 2014, which would eventually grow into a major franchise that stands out from the rest. Production is already underway on the spinoff with Ana de Armas set to take on the title role. Now, one more familiar cast member is set to return from the main series.

The Len Wiseman-directed film will see the return of Anjelica Huston in the role of The Director, who is the head of the Ruska Roma crime organization. She was introduced to us in John Wick 3 – Parabellum and it’s unclear just how big a role she’ll have in this expansion. There is likely a deeper connection between her and the unnamed main character of this spinoff, especially with her focus on teaching dancers to embrace their killer side. That is highlighted by her being the inspiration for the spinoff, to begin with.

The idea of Ballerina was formed around the scenes with Anjelica in John Wick 3. Anjelica Huston is an icon and is nothing less than Hollywood royalty. The world of Wick is always made richer by her commanding screen presence.

Erica Lee

While franchise building is all the rage at the moment, John Wick is in a unique position to make use of its rather simple but creative take on world-building. So, we’ll see if Ballerina manages to become a success and potentially even pulls in more interest to further explore other veterans that made this world their own.

Source: THR

The John Wick franchise is continuing to grow, as not only are we getting a TV spinoff that explores the early days of the iconic hotel chain but also a female-led spinoff only known as Ballerina as of now. It’s unclear if this new cinematic franchise will receive an original naming to tie it all together, but it does seem like the franchise’s iconic star, Keanu Reeves, is set to join the production of the upcoming spinoff.

Collider has shared the news that he’s already in Prague filming to return as the iconic character that kicked off a new franchise. He’ll be joined by the returning Ian McShane with Ana de Armas being attached as this spinoff’s main star. Len Wiseman is directing the production based on a screenplay by Shay Hatten. There’s no word if this story is set after any of the John Wick titles, or potentially explores the early days of the hitman’s time as Baba Yaga.

It’s crazy to think that a simple concept would end up growing to become such a massive franchise. Even the small horror film A Quiet Place is continuing to grow with its first spinoff in the works. So, we’ll see just how big this franchise can go, especially if Ballerina and The Continental end up being successes. There are many more hitmen out there in this neo-noir world. So, there are also many more stories that could be told that would still fit within the story we were introduced to all the way back in 2014.

Source: Collider

Emerald Fennell, who wrote and directed Promising Young Woman, is sprucing up the John Wick spinoff, Ballerina. The news was revealed by the film’s star Ana de Armas during a recent interview for Elle magazine.

The initial script for Ballerina was written by Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum) and director Len Wiseman. However, upon being cast in Ballerina, de Armas sought to hire a female writer to tweak the script. “It was really important for me to hire a female writer, because to that point when I got involved in the project, it was only the director, Len Wiseman, and another guy. And I was like, ‘That’s not going to work.’ So I interviewed, like, five or six female writers. We hired Emerald Fennell, which I was so proud of,” the actress told Elle.

For de Armas, it’s important that she’s closely involved behind the scenes during the process for Ballerina, which is why bringing in a female writer was vital. However, it remains to be seen whether or not Fennell will receive credit for her work on the script. As Variety states, that decision will ultimately be decided by the Writers Guild of America.

Ballerina follows de Armas’ young female assassin as she seeks revenge against those that killed her family. As of this writing, further details regarding the film and its cast remain unknown. It is the second spinoff from the John Wick franchise, however, as Mel Gibson is set to star in the television series spinoff, The Continental, for Starz.

Ballerina is yet another high-profile job for Fennell, who recently served as the showrunner on Killing Eve Season 2 and is set to pen a Zatanna film for DC and Warner Bros. – assuming that project is still in the works.

Source: Variety

As John Wick is filming its fourth entry with an all-star cast, Lionsgate is ready to start rolling out its upcoming spinoffs. We’ve heard the news about a three-episode miniseries focused on the beginnings of the Continental hotel, but it’s not the only one. Deadline is now reporting that Knives Out and No Time to Die star Ana De Armas is currently being eyed to play a young female assassin in a spinoff titled Ballerina. The character was briefly hinted at in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and will act as a jumping-off point for the new entry as she hunts down the people that killed her family.

Lionsgate already has Underworld’s Len Wiseman aboard to direct with a script from Shay Hatten. He wrote up the previously-mentioned Parabellum as well as Zack Snyder‘s Army of the Dead. Long-time John Wick producers Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, and Chad Stahelski are also returning for the spinoff. There even seems to be some hope that Keanu Reeves might have a cameo alongside Anjelica Huston.

De Armas has been building up quite the reputation with larger tentpole projects, as she’ll also appear in the Russo brothers’ upcoming Netflix film, The Gray Man, as well as the Marilyn Monroe film, Blonde. So, it was only a matter of time before she spearheaded her own action film, especially hot off the heels of her appearance in No Time To Die.

Source: Deadline