The John Wick franchise just got a little bigger today.
Deadline is reporting that Len Wiseman of Underworld fame is all set to helm Ballerina, a female-fronted spinoff set in the universe of John Wick. It’s said to follow a “young assassin who seeks revenge against the people who killed her family.” So far, so familiar.
For those who stuck around during the credits of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, you may have noticed a character by the name of Ballerina, who was seemingly played by Unity Phelan, a best-in-class ballerina dancer. It is, however, unclear whether she’ll reprise her role for this buzzworthy project.
What we do know is that Lionsgate has placed Ballerina on the fast track, with Shay Hatten (Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead) on script duties.
Wiseman, on the other hand, is perhaps best known for his decade-spanning career in the Underworld franchise, though has since notched directing credits on TV shows in the vein of Hawaii 5-0, Lucifer, Sleepy Hollow, The Gifted and the ill-fated Swamp Thing series.
He’ll certainly have big boots to fill when it comes to actually directing Lionsgate’s John Wick spinoff, given the saga has cemented itself as one of the accomplished – visually, technically… you name it – action franchises of the past 10 years. Nevertheless, we’re quietly confident that Wiseman and Hatten will deliver the goods.
Closer to home, Chapter 4 has already trained its sights on May 21st, 2021. Will it herald the last hurrah for Keanu Reeves’ hitman? Better yet, can we expect to see a full-blown Matrix reunion in two years’ time? Neo and Morpheus have already featured, so what’s not to say that Trinity (read: Carrie-Anne Moss) won’t enter the fray and complete the, er, trinity…