Editing Ballerina (2025)

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'''''Ballerina''''' is an American action thriller film directed by [[Len Wiseman]] from a screenplay by [[Shay Hatten]] and [[Emerald Fennell]], based on a story by Hatten. It is the first spin-off of the ''[[John Wick (series)|John Wick]]'' franchise, and is set between the events of ''[[John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum]]'' (2019) and ''[[John Wick: Chapter 4]]'' (2023). It stars [[Ana de Armas]], [[Ian McShane]], [[Keanu Reeves]], [[Lance Reddick]], and [[Anjelica Huston]]. In the film, ballerina assassin Rooney hunts those who killed her family.

[[Lionsgate]] acquired Hatten's spec script for the film in 2017, leading to him contributing to the final screenplay for ''Parabellum'' and then serving as the lead writer for ''Chapter 4''. In October 2019, Wiseman was hired as director, with franchise director [[Chad Stahelski]] confirmed as a producer by May 2020. ''Ballerina'' was officially announced in April 2022, with de Armas confirmed to be replacing [[Unity Phelan]], who portrayed the character in ''Parabellum'', in the lead role; by that November, the rest of the main cast was rounded out. Principal photography began soon after, taking place in Prague.

The film was released on June 6, 2025, by Lionsgate.

== Premise ==
Taking place between the events of ''[[John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum]]'' and ''[[John Wick: Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]'', ballerina-assassin Rooney hunts the murderers of her family.

== Cast ==
* [[Ana de Armas]] as Rooney
* [[Ian McShane]] as Winston Scott
* [[Keanu Reeves]] as [[John Wick (character)|Jardani Jovonovich / Jonathan "John" Wick]]
* [[Lance Reddick]] as Charon. This was Reddick’s final appearance as the character and one of his last screen appearances.
* [[Anjelica Huston]] as "The Director"
* [[Gabriel Byrne]] in to-be-confirmed role
* [[Norman Reedus]] in to-be-confirmed role
* [[Catalina Sandino Moreno]] in to-be-confirmed role

== 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 (series)|John Wick]]'' franchise, with the title character, Rooney, ultimately being written into the third main film, ''[[John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum]]'' (2019 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, [[Ana 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 was looking for an actress to star in the film, with [[Chloë Grace Moretz]] as the template for the kind of talent they were looking for. By October 2021, de Armas entered negotiations to play the titular character, a ballerina-assassin named Rooney, replacing Phelan, who previously portrayed the character in ''Chapter 3 – Parabellum''. By April 2022 at CinemaCon, Lionsgate officially announced that de Armas would 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 [[John Wick (character)|John Wick]], Winston Scott, Charon, and "the Director", respectively; it also marks the third collaboration between de Armas and Reeves, having previously worked together in ''[[Knock Knock]]'' (2015) and ''[[Exposed]]'' (2016). In December 2022, [[Gabriel Byrne]], [[Norman Reedus]], and [[Catalina Sandino Moreno]] joined the supporting cast in undisclosed roles.

=== Filming ===
Initially scheduled to commence in summer 2022, principal photography officially began on November 7, 2022, in Prague. ''Ballerina'' was in post-production in February 2023.

== Release ==
''Ballerina'' is scheduled to be released in the United States on June 6, 2025 by Lionsgate.

== Potential sequel ==
In March 2023, producer [[Erica Lee]] stated that the studio has tentative plans to develop a sequel, with de Armas returning in the lead role.

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[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:2025 films]]
[[Category:2025 in film]]
[[Category:2025 American films]]
[[Category:2020s films]]
[[Category:2020s American films]]
[[Category:Lionsgate films]]
[[Category:Summit Entertainment films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Action films]]
[[Category:American action films]]
[[Category:2025 action films]]
[[Category:2025 American action films]]
[[Category:2020s action films]]
[[Category:2020s American action films]]
[[Category:Action thriller films]]
[[Category:American action thriller films]]
[[Category:2025 action thriller films]]
[[Category:2025 American action thriller films]]
[[Category:2020s action thriller films]]
[[Category:2020s American action thriller films]]
[[Category:Spin-off films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Len Wiseman]]
[[Category:Films shot in Czech Republic]]
[[Category:Thriller films]]
[[Category:John Wick films]]
[[Category:Films starring Ana de Armas]]
[[Category:Films starring Ian McShane]]
[[Category:Films starring Keanu Reeves]]
[[Category:Films starring Lance Reddick]]
[[Category:Films starring Anjelica Huston]]
[[Category:Films Starring Gabriel Byrne]]
[[Category:Films starring Norman Reedus]]