Ian McShane has given an update about Ballerina, the upcoming John Wick spin-off movie starring Ana de Armas.
Speaking with Collider, McShane, who plays Winston Scott in the John Wick franchise, was asked what fans can expect out of his character in the upcoming Ballerina movie.
“This time we’re protecting Ana de Armas, and I had my great friend, Mr. Lance Reddick. God bless you, Lance — he passed away last year,” McShane said. “This one is set in between John Wick 3 and John Wick 4, because Keanu [Reeves] is in it, too. You didn’t want to set it after John Wick 4, because then you’d have social media saying, ‘Oh, so he’s still alive! What’s he going to do next time? Is there a John Wick 5?!’ This way, you can still keep up the pretense that there might not be a John Wick 5.
“But Lance and I bring our usual protection towards Ms. de Armas. And Len I found a delight to work for. Again, we worked out the script beforehand, so there was no wasted time. They tend to make me sound a bit like an English dictionary sometimes on John Wick. They’re great writers — Michael [Finch] and Shay [Hatten] on those. We go through it, I check with them, and we cut it down to whatever. Len had conferred with Chad [Stahelski], so I think there’s a continuity from the other Wick movies. So it should be very enjoyable. [Ana] was lovely to work with. I think Gabriel Byrne plays the chief villain, so there’s a good actor for you.”
Who else stars in Ballerina?
Along with Ana de Armas, Reeves, Reddick, Byrne, and McShane, Ballerina stars Anjelica Huston, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Norman Reedus. The movie is directed by Len Wiseman, with the script written by Shay Hatten, Michael Finch, and Emerald Fennell.
Ballerina releases in theaters on June 7, 2024, from Lionsgate.
