Ana de Armas teases her battle scene with John Wick, played by Keanu Reeves, as a ballerina. The fifth entry in the John Wick series, Ballerina, stars Armas as Rooney, a role previously held by ballet dancer Unity Phelan and initially presented in John Wick 3: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Filming began in Prague in November, as formally confirmed by Lionsgate in April 2022.
Armas discusses a ballerina fight scene she practiced with Reeves on The Tonight Show. She discusses how challenging it is to shoot stunts since it frequently leaves her “sore” and “bruised.” She quips, though, that following her practice with the John Wick actor, she “can’t complain anymore” because of the grace and expertise with which he executes his stunts. Below is a whole remark from Armas on the scene:
We’ve been in Prague filming for four months. We still have one more month to go. And I’m in pain. You know, my body, my back, everything hurts. I’m complaining, I’m sore, I’m bruised. Bond was fifteen minutes. This is a whole movie, another level. But the other day, Keanu and I were rehearsing our very difficult stunt scene, and this man is just rolling and throwing me and doing crazy stunts. And I’m like — I can’t complain anymore. Because he is doing it! He truly is the best.
Details about the John Wick spinoff, Ballerina
Armas has established herself as a skilled action actress with her scene-stealing performances following her appearances in No Time to Die and The Gray Man. Many have praised her casting to lead the spin-off. The ballerina will include more series figures like Winston Scott (Ian McShane), “The Director” (Anjelica Huston), and Charon in addition to Armas’ Rooney and Reeves’ John Wick (Lance Reddick). For Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, and Gabriel Byrne, unknown parts have also been cast. Shay Hatten wrote the scripts for John Wick 3 and 4, and Emerald Fennell, who was chosen by Armas herself, wrote the screenplay. The film’s director is Len Wiseman, well known for the Underworld series.
Despite the film’s early release, the tale will take place before the actions in John Wick: Chapter 4. Rooney is an assassin-in-training in John Wick 3, but in the fifth film, she is a fully-fledged assassin who is on the search for the people who killed her family. Little else about the plot has been divulged, but it is inevitable that it will take place inside the framework of the franchise’s particular criminal underworld, and the action scenes will be just as stylish and vibrant as they always are. Viewers are particularly interested to see how the film will interpret the ballerina-assassin theme after the lackluster execution in predecessors like Black Widow and Red Sparrow.
The franchise’s first spin-off is Ballerina, however, The Continental, a television series, and a movie featuring Sofia from John Wick 3 by Halle Berry are also in development. Should Armas’ Rooney be a commercial success, it might serve as the first episode of a brand-new, all-female television series. In a heavily male-dominated series, this would be especially noteworthy. Although a release date is not yet in sight, viewers can at least anticipate John Wick 4 hitting cinemas on March 24.
