Ana De Armas is in talks to star in Ballerina, the John Wick spinoff movie. Lionsgate found a surprising amount of success in 2014 with the release of John Wick, which stars Keanu Reeves as a legendary but retired hitman who reenters the assassin underworld. The popularity of the film helped launch a franchise that continues to become more successful, with John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum earning more than $325 million at the box office. The goodwill that the series has built up has enabled Lionsgate to look at expanding the property.
In addition to the Starz prequel series, The Continental, which will star Colin Woodell as a young Winston and Mel Gibson, Lionsgate has been developing a female-led spinoff movie in the John Wick universe. Known only as Ballerina, the project has been in development since 2017. It was then reported in 2019 that Live Free or Die Hard director Len Wiseman would helm the movie. Fans gained a better understanding of what type of female assassin the film stars after a glimpse of the training program Angelica Huston's The Director ran in John Wick 3.
After all this time developing Ballerina, the movie is now eyeing Ana De Armas as its star. Deadline reports that she is in talks to play the lead role, who is described as a young assassin seeking revenge on the people who killed her family. De Armas is fresh off her appearance in No Time To Die, and previously worked with Keanu Reeves in the film Knock Knock. It is unclear, though, if Reeves' John Wick will appear in the spinoff, but this report notes cameos from him and Huston are possible.
Should De Armas finalize a deal to star in the John Wick spinoff movie, it will be the latest starring role that she has, and another foray into the action movie genre. Following her breakout role in Blade Runner 2049, De Armas secured a prominent role in Rian Johnson's Knives Out. She once again stood out in a massive ensemble and has several high profile upcoming projects. This includes the Russo brothers' assassin action movie The Gray Man starring Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling, as well as playing Marilyn Monroe in the biopic Blonde.
Now that De Armas has experienced a brief action role, making the jump to John Wick is an exciting next step, especially since a spinoff featuring her No Time To Die character isn't planned. The actress went through plenty of training for her fight scene alongside Daniel Craig, and now she'll get the chance to dedicate herself even more. The John Wick franchise is known for its amazing fight sequences and gun-fu, but De Armas' unnamed ballerina assassin could have a fighting style all her own. And while many will wonder if Reeves will appear in Ballerina, it's also possible De Armas gets a cameo in John Wick: Chapter 4.
Source: Deadline
