Knives Out and No Time to Die star Ana de Armas sees her stock continues to rise as reports suggest she is in talks to be the lead in a John Wick spinoff titled Ballerina, a script born out of the ballet assassin concept introduced in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.
Back in 2019, the third film in the John Wick saga featured an intriguing character, played by New York City Ballet soloist Unity Phelan, who was undergoing training to become an assassin, and it now looks like that idea will fully come to fruition. Although the project had been reportedly greenlit two years ago with Len Wiseman (Underworld) as director and Parabellum writer Shay Hatten, in de Armas Lionsgate seem to have found their killer ballet muse.
According to Deadline, de Armas would play a young ballerina assassin who, much like John Wick, is out to get revenge against those who murdered her family. Ballerina would bring John Wick producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee on board, as well as franchise director Chad Stahelski. However, it’s a complete mystery whether Keanu Reeves' titular character could make some sort of cameo appearance. That said, the outlet reports there is a hope that Reeves and Anjelica Huston could make cameos.
The reported budget for Ballerina would be in the $50-80m region, putting it in line with the previous three John Wick films to perhaps seeking that same profitability the franchise has netted so far. De Armas’ upcoming projects include an action movie, The Gray Man, as well as a Marylin Monroe biopic titled Blonde. But undoubtedly, her scintillating role in No Time to Die must have been what made her the preferred choice for the part.
Her Bond character Paloma, a CIA agent who meets up with 007 for a mission in Cuba, was seen by many as one of the biggest highlights of the film and also as further proof of how well No Time to Die modernizes Bond girls. Ironically, de Armas has been said to be a late addition in No Time to Die, coming in part due to Daniel Craig’s personal request after loving working with her in Knives Out, which may explain her somewhat limited screen time.
Besides John Wick: Chapter 4 coming on May 27, 2022, Derek Kolstad and Lionsgate continue to expand the John Wick universe by also having the prequel series The Continental as a next year project. If Ballerina goes on to be as big as John Wick, then no one will even think of what a female James Bond would look like.
Ballerina is in development.
Source: Deadline