Ballerina (2025 film)

Ballerina is an upcoming American action thriller film directed by Len Wiseman from a screenplay by Shay Hatten and Emerald Fennell, based on a story by Hatten. It is the first spin-off of the John Wick franchise, and is set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023). It stars Ana de Armas, Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves, Lance Reddick, and Anjelica Huston. In the film, ballerina assassin Rooney hunts those who killed her family.
Lionsgate acquired Hatten's spec script for the film in 2017, leading to him contributing to the final screenplay for Parabellum and then serving as the lead writer for Chapter 4. In October 2019, Wiseman was hired as director, with franchise director Chad Stahelski confirmed as a producer by May 2020. Ballerina was officially announced in April 2022, with de Armas confirmed to be replacing Unity Phelan, who portrayed the character in Parabellum, in the lead role; by that November, the rest of the main cast was rounded out. Principal photography began soon after, taking place in Prague.
The film is scheduled to be released on June 6, 2025, by Lionsgate.
== Premise ==
Taking place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4, ballerina-assassin Rooney hunts the murderers of her family.
== Cast ==
* Ana de Armas as Rooney
* Ian McShane as Winston Scott
* Keanu Reeves as Jardani Jovonovich / Jonathan "John" Wick
* Lance Reddick as Charon. This was Reddick’s final appearance as the character and one of his last screen appearances.
* Anjelica Huston as "The Director"
* Gabriel Byrne in to-be-confirmed role
* Norman Reedus in to-be-confirmed role
* Catalina Sandino Moreno in to-be-confirmed role
== Production ==
=== Development ===
In July 2017, Lionsgate Films acquired Shay Hatten's action thriller Ballerina, with Thunder Road Films producing the film with Hatten rewriting the script to be a part of the John Wick franchise, with the title character, Rooney, ultimately being written into the third main film, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019 in a cameo role ahead of the production of Ballerina, portrayed by Unity Phelan. By October 2019, Len Wiseman was hired to direct the film. In May 2020, Stahelski stated that Wiseman had read the script earlier, and approached the studio with a pitch of how he would develop the project, based on Hatten's draft, for which the proof of concept had previously been uploaded to YouTube in September 2017. Stahelski met with Wiseman, and approached executives to hire the filmmaker. He confirmed that he and his team will work closely with Wiseman on the action sequences and stunts for the film, while acknowledging that Wiseman's filmmaking style will add variety to the franchise. At that point, Wiseman and Hatten were working on a newer draft of the script. By April 2022, the film was officially announced by Lionsgate.
In July 2022, Ana de Armas revealed that she had personally selected Emerald Fennell to contribute to the script as one of its writers.
=== Casting ===
In May 2020, it was reported that the studio was looking for an actress to star in the film, with Chloë Grace Moretz as the template for the kind of talent they were looking for. By October 2021, de Armas entered negotiations to play the titular character, a ballerina-assassin named Rooney, replacing Phelan, who previously portrayed the character in Chapter 3 – Parabellum. By April 2022 at CinemaCon, Lionsgate officially announced that de Armas would star in the lead role. In November 2022, it was announced that Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, and Anjelica Huston had joined the cast and will reprise their roles from previous films of the franchise; as John Wick, Winston Scott, Charon, and "the Director", respectively; it also marks the third collaboration between de Armas and Reeves, having previously worked together in Knock Knock (2015) and Exposed (2016). In December 2022, Gabriel Byrne, Norman Reedus, and Catalina Sandino Moreno joined the supporting cast in undisclosed roles.
=== Filming ===
Initially scheduled to commence in summer 2022, principal photography officially began on November 7, 2022, in Prague. Ballerina was in post-production in February 2023.
== Release ==
Ballerina is scheduled to be released in the United States on June 6, 2025 by Lionsgate.
== Potential sequel ==
In March 2023, producer Erica Lee stated that the studio has tentative plans to develop a sequel, with de Armas returning in the lead role.
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