If we’ve learned anything from the John Wick franchise over the soon-to-be four films it’s been running for, it’s that the titular hitman just can’t stay away from the life of an assassin. In fact, the life is so quintessential to his existence, that he even indulges in it when the spotlight is on somebody else, as will be the case when he turns up in the spinoff Ballerina.
Ballerina will star Ana de Armas as Rooney, who was previously portrayed by Unity Phelan in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, a vengeance-happy ballerina/assassin gunning for the heads of of her family’s murderers, with the story unfolding between Chapter 3 and Chapter 4.
The spinoff will feature many a John Wick regular, including Ian McShane’s Winston Scott, the owner of the New York Continental Hotel, the late Lance Reddick’s Charon, the concierge of the Continental, and of course, Keanu Reeves himself as the insatiable John Wick.
Ahead of the release of Chapter 4, Reeves is locked and loaded for some bloody action in Ballerina. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor expressed excitement towards working with de Armas and director Len Wiseman, and a fondness for the role that he’s now become inseparable from over the last decade or so.
“Yeah, I got to work with Ana de Armas, and the director Len Wiseman, and they had a great script, and John Wick has a small part to play in it. Len Wiseman was cool. He was like, ‘Where do you want to pitch this story in [the] timeline?’ So, it takes place between chapter 3 and chapter 4 of the John Wick stories. It was fun to put the suit back on.”
With Ballerina having entered post-production last month, word on a release date shouldn’t be far off; all we know is that many a moviegoer will be keeping an eye out for that sweet Baba Yaga cameo as they cheer Rooney on.
John Wick: Chapter 4 will release to theaters on March 24.
