After the success of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, the franchise took a new form with its own universe. While fans will soon see Keanu Reeves continuing the story in Chapter 4, there’s another feature that’s gripped their attention — the Ana de Armas-led Ballerina. The spin-off is set in the present timeline unlike the prequel series The Continental, which will tell us the story of a young Winston. Recently, cinematographer, Duane Charles Manwiller, revealed that the upcoming feature will shoot some of its action sequences in Prague.
Manwiller, who is best known for features like The Hunger Games, Deja Vu, and Battleship, took to Instagram to post an update about his current project — Sony’s Dakota Johnson-led Madame Web. He confirmed that the production has wrapped up on the feature and revealed a little about his next project in the caption. He wrote, “The holidays are officially over. Time to get back at it. Headed to Prague to do a little action unit on BALLERINA for Lionsgate. Another chapter in the John Wick franchise. A spin off.”
Ballerina will see Armas as a ballerina-assassin named Rooney, who is on the hunt for her family's murderers. The feature will take place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. Collider previously confirmed that many franchise mainstays like Reeves, and Ian McShane will also be seen in the feature.
Fans had seen a glimpse of the ballerina school in the last movie, where John meets ‘The Director’ (Anjelica Huston) of the Ruska Roma society. During CCXP 2022, Reeves shared more insight on the project revealing,
She lost her father at a young age, and she doesn't really know what happened. Only that someone came into the house and killed her father, who had a tattoo. And as we know in John Wick, if you have a tattoo, something's going on."
The spin-off is helmed by Len Wiseman, whose credits include features like Underworld franchise, Total Recall and more. He directs from a script by Shay Hatten and Emerald Fennell and a story from Shay Hatten. Along with Armas in the lead, and the return of Reeves and McShane, Huston will also reprise her role. Further rounding off the Ballerina cast are Lance Reddick as Charon, while Gabriel Byrne, Norman Reedus, and Catalina Sandino Moreno are set to appear in undisclosed roles.
Currently, no release date has been announced for Ballerina but stay tuned to Collider for future updates. Check out Manwiller’s post below: