Thanks to the John Wick franchise and others, many could argue that Hollywood feels like an endless loop where anything new and exciting inevitably spawns sequels, spinoffs, and entire "cinematic universes" on the regular. It's difficult to argue against that claim, but depending on who's being asked, it may also be difficult to see that as a bad thing.
One of the John Wick spinoffs in the works (which just made the jump to the Peacock streaming service) will reportedly tell the story of The Continental, the infamous hotel in New York that serves as a neutral ground for the city's various assassins. The 3-episode miniseries will be set in the 1970s, focusing on the character of Winston and his rise to power before becoming the imposing figure played by Ian McShane whom fans have gotten to know over the past 3 John Wick films. The other one stars Ana de Armas, who talked about the spinoff with Elle.
The other spinoff, which has unfortunately seen a bit less attention than its counterpart, is a mysterious film featuring a character barely glimpsed in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. Cuban/Spanish actress and Knives Out star de Armas will play the lead in The Ballerina, who is reportedly a young assassin seeking revenge against those who killed her family. Des Armas was rumored for the role for some time and has recently been confirmed as the spinoff's lead. However, it turns out she needed a certain condition to be met before officially signing on to the movie.
De Armas talked about how she made the effort to bring a female writer to the team for The Ballerina. "It was really important for me to hire a female writer, because to that point when I got involved in the project," she explained, "it was only the director, Len Wiseman, and another guy. And I was like, 'That’s not going to work.' So I interviewed, like, five or six female writers. We hired Emerald Fennell, which I was so proud of." It certainly makes sense. A movie with a woman as the main character would usually be better suited to have women on the staff to ensure some level of authenticity. Fennell is known for her work as showrunner for BBC series Killing Eve as well as for directing and writing 2020's Promising Young Woman, so there's plenty to be excited for there.
"I grew up in the most macho-man culture," de Armas further explained her perspective, "and at the same time, Cuba is just so free in so many other ways that sometimes I'm shocked with the things that I hear that are still conversations in this country. I'm like, 'We're still here?'" She's certainly not wrong. From new laws being written attacking marginalized groups to open racist attacks against actors like Moses Ingram, it's hard not to share in de Armas' incredulity at it all.
But hopefully, her efforts will both improve the quality of The Ballerina and inspire more stars to speak out about similar inequalities in the industry. As for release, no premiere date has been confirmed as of yet. But with John Wick 4 preparing to drop in 2023, odds are it might be a while before audiences get to see The Ballerina in action.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is scheduled to be released in theaters on March 24, 2023.
Source: Elle