Few franchises are capable of matching the rich mythos that the John Wick films have been housing for nearly a decade now. From the Continental to the protagonist’s legendary in-universe status to all the topsy turvy rules that the franchise’s inter-film tensions are precariously built on, the soon-to-be quadrilogy is worthy of its own encyclopedia.
And before long, the world of Wick will get even bigger, with the spin-off film Ballerina set to take the camera off of Keanu Reeves‘ man of few words and on to a character whose appetite for vengeance just might dwarf that of Baba Yaga.
Ballerina will star Ana de Armas as Rooney, a ballerina who first appeared in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (then portrayed by Unity Phelan) and whose training as an assassin is set to be put to good use as she hunts the murderers of her family.
Reeves will also reprise his role in a smaller capacity for the film, but the ever-humble star of the franchise is all too happy to pour all of the love out for de Armas, revealing in an interview with ET Online that the actress very much made the John Wick canvas her own, calling her “amazing.”
She’s an amazing artist. The story existed, and this artist is a wonderful fit for it… Ana was like, ‘I love that painting, but I’m going to go make that my own.’ So it was cool to be in someone else’s painting but to be the paint, and the landscape.
Ballerina is in the post-production stages as of last month, so we shouldn’t have to wait terribly long for news on a release date for this exciting expansion to the John Wick universe. Regardless, we’ll have plenty to satisfy our palates in the meantime, with John Wick: Chapter 4 set to release to cinemas on March 24.