‘Ballerina’: Ana de Armas faces Keanu Reeves in ‘John Wick’ spinoff
Ana de Armas plays dancer-turned-assassin on a mission of revenge and Keanu Reeves makes an appearance as John Wick in the action movie “Ballerina.”
LAS VEGAS – John Wick is not doing a very good job at staying dead.
Keanu Reeves’ hard-luck hitman seemed to shuffle off to that assassin’s guild in the sky at the end of 2023’s “John Wick: Chapter 4” but no one told him that. Not only does he appear in the upcoming spinoff “Ballerina” (in theaters June 6), starring Ana de Armas, but Reeves is expected to return for “John Wick 5,” which is currently in development.
Lionsgate announced the news Tuesday at CinemaCon, the convention of theater owners. Not much was revealed about the fifth “Wick,” but producers including Chad Stahelski and Reeves himself have locked in a story, and there’s only one man who can wear Wick’s suit.
The studio also shared that an animated “John Wick” prequel in the works.
The latter is set before the events of the first movie and will tell the story of Wick’s “Impossible Task”: the killing of all of his rivals in one night to free himself from the High Table so he can be with Helen, the love of his life.
“I feel John Wick is the perfect property for this medium,” “Wick” Stahelski said in a statement. “Anime holds the potential to expand our world, our characters and our action in ways unimaginable before.”
In addition, another “Wick” spinoff film was announced, “Caine,” with Donnie Yen directing and also reprising his role in a Hong Kong-style action bonanza as the blind assassin who John helped free from the High Table in “Chapter 4.”
Ana de Armas teases her ‘Ballerina’ fight scenes in ‘John Wick’ spinoff
As for the most immediate spinoff, de Armas and director Len Wiseman were on hand at CinemaCon to debut an extended look at “Ballerina,” including a scene where de Armas’ character, ballerina/assassin Eve Macarro, and an adversary smash each other over and over again with dinnerware. It turns out, breakaway plates are not easy to work with, Wiseman revealed: “If you pick them up too fast, they break.” And de Armas added that in a fight scene, “you have to act like you’re struggling” and be gentle with them to make sure they don’t break before impact.
De Armas had a memorable action sequence in the last James Bond film, “No Time to Die.” But unlike that, where there was three weeks of training, being the main star of “Ballerina” took the physicality to “a whole new level,” she said. Diving into the “Wick” universe meant four months of training, from building up her strength in the gym to four to five hours a day working with the stunt team and practicing with weapons.
Eve’s dance background informed a lot of the character, de Armas said. “Ballet is one of the hardest disciplines you can ever practice. It’s so beautiful but they go through so much. That’s something to keep in mind, the pain (and) the blisters.”
The actress added that she “felt stronger and better every day, more confident every day, doing ballet moves in the fights. They were very creative and fun to do.”
