Ballerina

***Ballerina*** is an upcoming action thriller film directed by Len Wiseman, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shay Hatten in collaboration with Emerald Fennell, from an original story by Hatten. It is the fifth film and seventh installment overall of the John Wick franchise. Starring Ana de Armas as Rooney, a ballerina-assassin previously portrayed by Unity Phelan in *John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum*, with Ian McShane and Keanu Reeves reprising their roles Winston and John Wick from previous films.

## Synopsis

Taking place between the events of *John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum* and *John Wick: Chapter 4*, a ballerina-assassin hunts the assassins who killed her family.

## Cast

* Ana de Armas as Rooney
* Ian McShane as Winston
* Keanu Reeves as John Wick
* Lance Reddick as Charon
* Anjelica Huston as The Director
* Catalina Sandino Moreno as TBA
* Norman Reedus as TBA
* Gabriel Byrne as TBA

## 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* 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, 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 is looking for an actress to star in the film, with Chloë Grace Moretz as the template for the kind of talent they are looking for. By October 2021, Ana de Armas entered negotiations to portray the titular character, a ballerina-assassin named Rooney, replacing Unity Phelan, who previously portrayed the character in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019). By April 2022 at CinemaCon, Lionsgate officially announced that de Armas will 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 Jardani Jovonovich / John Wick, Winston Scott, Charon, and "the Director", respectively. In December 2022, Gabriel Byrne, Norman Reedus, and Catalina Sandino Moreno joined the supporting cast in unnamed roles.

### Filming

Principal photography was initially scheduled to commence in summer 2022. Filming officially began rolling on November 7, 2022, in Prague. Certain scenes were shot around Moravia. Principal photography finished on February 5, 2023.

## Trivia

* This is the third film featuring stars Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas.
* At the John Wick Panel at CCXP22, star Keanu Reeves announced this film *Ballerina* will take place between *John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum* and *John Wick: Chapter 4.*
* This was Lance Reddick's final appearance as Charon, and overall final on-screen appearance released posthumously.