''Ballerina'' is an upcoming American action thriller film directed by Len Wiseman from a screenplay by Shay Hatten and

Emerald Fennell Emerald Lilly Fennell (; born 1 October 1985) is an English actress, filmmaker, and writer. She has received many awards and nominations, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and nomination ...

, based on a story by Hatten. It is the first

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

of the ''John Wick'' franchise, and is set between the events of '' John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum'' (2019) and '' John Wick: Chapter 4'' (2023). It stars Ana de Armas,

Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress and director. Known for often portraying eccentric and distinctive characters, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as no ...

, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, Ian McShane, and

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...

. In the film, ballerina-assassin Rooney (Armas) hunts those who killed her family. Lionsgate acquired Hatten's spec script for the film in 2017, leading to him contributing to the final screenplay for ''Parabellum'' and then serving as the lead writer for ''Chapter 4''. In October 2019, Wiseman was hired as director, with franchise director

Chad Stahelski Chad Stahelski (born September 20, 1968) is an American stuntman and film director. He is known for directing the 2014 film ''John Wick'' and directing its three sequels. Stahelski also doubled for Brandon Lee after the fatal accident involving L ...

confirmed as a producer by May 2020. ''Ballerina'' was officially announced in April 2022, with de Armas confirmed to be replacing

Unity Phelan Unity Sickles Phelan (born February 1995) is an American ballet dancer. She joined the New York City Ballet in 2013 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2021. Outside of the company, she had also danced in films '' John Wick: Chapter 3 – Par ...

, who portrayed the character in ''Parabellum'', in the lead role; by that November, the rest of the main cast was rounded out. Principal photography began soon after, taking place in Prague. The film is scheduled to be released on June 7, 2024.

Premise

Taking place between the events of '' John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum'' and ''

Chapter 4 Chapter Four refers to a fourth chapter, but the term may also refer to: Music * "Chapter Four" (song), by Avenged Sevenfold from ''Waking the Fallen'' *Chapter 4, a band on J Records * Chapter 4 (EP), an EP by Zion I * Chapter Four: Alive in N ...

'', ballerina-assassin Rooney hunts the murderers of her family.

Cast

* Ana de Armas as Rooney: A ballerina who seeks revenge by hunting the murderers of her family. The character was previously portrayed by

in '' John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum'' (2019). *

as "The Director" * Gabriel Byrne * Lance Reddick as Charon, the concierge at the Continental Hotel in New York and friend of Winston Scott and acquaintance of John Wick. This was Reddick's final appearance as Charon and one of his last screen appearances. * Catalina Sandino Moreno * Norman Reedus * Ian McShane as Winston Scott: The enigmatic owner of the Continental Hotel and friend of John Wick. *

as Jardani Jovonovich / Jonathan "John" Wick: A professional hitman known as one of the most dangerous assassins, and fearfully referred to in the hitman underworld as "Baba Yaga".

Production

Development

In July 2017, Lionsgate Films acquired Shay Hatten's action thriller ''Ballerina'', with Thunder Road Films producing the film with Hatten rewriting the script to be a part of the ''John Wick'' franchise, with the title character, Rooney, ultimately being written into the third main film, '' John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum'' in a cameo role ahead of the production of ''Ballerina'', portrayed by

. By October 2019, Len Wiseman was hired to direct the film. In May 2020, Stahelski stated that Wiseman had read the script earlier, and approached the studio with a pitch of how he would develop the project, based on Hatten's draft, for which the proof of concept had previously been uploaded to YouTube in September 2017. Stahelski met with Wiseman, and approached executives to hire the filmmaker. He confirmed that he and his team will work closely with Wiseman on the action sequences and stunts for the film, while acknowledging that Wiseman's filmmaking style will add variety to the franchise. At that point, Wiseman and Hatten were working on a newer draft of the script. By April 2022, the film was officially announced by Lionsgate, with Ana de Armas tapped to star in the lead role./ In July 2022, de Armas revealed that she had personally selected

to contribute to the script as one of its writers.

Casting

In May 2020, it was reported that the studio was looking for an actress to star in the film, with Chloë Grace Moretz as the template for the kind of talent they were looking for. By October 2021, Ana de Armas entered negotiations to play the titular character, a ballerina-assassin named Rooney, replacing

, who previously portrayed the character in '' John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum'' (2019). By April 2022 at CinemaCon, Lionsgate officially announced that de Armas would star in the lead role. In November 2022, it was announced that

, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, and

had joined the cast and will reprise their roles from previous films of the franchise; as John Wick, Winston Scott, Charon, and "the Director", respectively; it also marks the third collaboration between de Armas and Reeves, having previously worked together in ''

Knock Knock Knock Knock may refer to: * Knock-knock joke, a type of joke Film and television * Knock Knock (1940 film), ''Knock Knock'' (1940 film), an animated short film noted for the first appearance of Woody Woodpecker * ''Knock Knock'' (2007 film), a ...

'' (2015) and '' Exposed'' (2016). In December 2022, Gabriel Byrne, Norman Reedus, and Catalina Sandino Moreno joined the supporting cast in undisclosed roles.

Filming

Initially scheduled to commence in summer 2022, principal photography officially began on November 7, 2022, in Prague. ''Ballerina'' was in

post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. The ...

in February 2023.

Music

The music score was composed by

Marco Beltrami Marco Beltrami (born October 7, 1966) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has worked in a number of genres, including horror (''Scream'', ''Mimic, The Faculty, Resident Evil, The Woman in Black, A Quiet Place' ...

and Anna Drubich, which they joined it in April 17, 2023.

Release

''Ballerina'' is scheduled to be released in the United States on June 7, 2024.

Potential sequel

In March 2023, producer Erica Lee stated that the studio has tentative plans to develop a sequel starring Ana de Armas.

References

External links

* {{Len Wiseman American action thriller films Film spin-offs Films directed by Len Wiseman Films produced by Basil Iwanyk Films shot in Prague Films with screenplays by Shay Hatten John Wick Lionsgate films Summit Entertainment films Thunder Road Films films Upcoming English-language films Interquel films