The John Wick spin-off movie Ballerina is gaining two familiar faces, with franchise stars Keanu Reeves and Ian McShane joining the movie as their characters — John Wick and Winston, respectively — opposite Ana de Armas.
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Collider confirmed that Reeves is currently in Prague and will be reprising his role as the legendary assassin in Ballerina. McShane’s character Winston, who acts as the manager of the Continental, a hotel for assassins that features its own set of strict rules and regulations when you’re on the premises, will also be appearing alongside Reeves once again in the highly anticipated John Wick: Chapter 4, which is set to release on March 23, 2023. Currently, it’s unclear what will happen to McShane’s character, as he’s become a bit of a foe to Wick following the events of John Wick 3 — Parabellum, which saw Winston turn on Wick after coming to an agreement with the Adjudicator (Asia Kate Dillon).
“We’re thrilled to have Ian McShane joining us for a pivotal role in Ballerina,” said producer Basil Iwanyk. “He’s been such an integral part of the franchise since the original John Wick. It’s been fun to have him on this journey as the Wick universe expands.”
The project was first announced in 2019, following the theatrical debut of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which gives us our first look at the Ballerina assassins who are being trained by the Ruska Roma syndicate led by Anjelica Huston’s character.
Ballerina focuses on a young female assassin who seeks revenge against the people who killed her family. It will be directed by Len Wiseman from a screenplay written by Shay Hatten (Army of the Dead). The movie will be overseen by James Myers for Lionsgate. The spin-off is produced by Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Keanu Reeves, and Chad Stahelski. In John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, John (Keanu Reeves) comes across what could be the titular ballerina, or, at least, where the new character likely comes from.
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Lionsgate is currently in post-production for John Wick: Chapter 4, which is slated to hit the theaters on March 24, 2023. The studio is also working on the prequel series The Continental, which will be debuting on Starz as a three-part limited series.
