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Ana de Armas' John Wick Spinoff Filming Start Window Revealed
As anticipation grows for the next mainline installment in the franchise, Ana de Armas' John Wick spinoff movie Ballerina is looking to start filming soon. The film will be centered around the titular young woman who seeks to use her skills as an assassin to get revenge on the hitmen who killed her family. The concept of the Ballerina world was first introduced in John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum via Anjelica Huston's The Director, the head of the Ruska Roma crime syndicate who also runs a ballerina show and helps Keanu Reeves' character escape the dangers of New York in order to reach the Elder in Casablanca.
IndieWire recently reported that Lionsgate and the producers behind the John Wick franchise were looking to develop a AAA game around the Keanu Reeves character. Included in the report was a rundown of some of what's to come from its future, one of which is that of Ana de Armas' spinoff movie Ballerina from director and co-writer Len Wiseman. The report revealed the John Wick spinoff's filming start window as kicking off next week.
Could Ballerina Hit Theaters Before John Wick 5?
After initially languishing in development for two years, Ballerina has begun picking up steam for the past few years with Underworld director and co-creator Len Wiseman signing on to helm the John Wick spinoff, while de Armas was confirmed to star earlier this year. Production had initially been expected to start this past summer, though was quietly delayed to a fall start, with no explanation given as to why. It was revealed in the past few months, however, that de Armas had elected to bring on a female writer for Ballerina to contribute to Wiseman and previous John Wick writer Shay Hatten's original draft, landing on Promising Young Woman's Emerald Fennell.
With Ballerina's filming start window revealed to be next week, it will be interesting to see if Lionsgate announces a release date for the John Wick spinoff movie sometime in the near future. If to look at the franchise's past, the Reeves-led films have seen their productions run for a few months before hitting theaters an estimated 5-6 months afterward, save in part for the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4, which was delayed a variety of times due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and competition with Top Gun: Maverick. Should Ballerina follow a similar approach to its predecessors, it could make its way to the big screen as early as Fall 2023.
The question then becomes, however, whether Lionsgate wants to take a risk on two John Wick-based movies releasing the same year. Considering Fall 2023 already has a stacked lineup of tentpole releases ranging from Dune: Part Two to Kraven the Hunter and Lionsgate's own The Expendables 4 and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it seems more likely Ballerina could hit the big screen in early 2024 instead. However, with the potential John Wick: Chapter 5 still largely in limbo, Ana de Armas' spinoff will at least keep audiences invested in the action franchise following John Wick: Chapter 4's March 2023 release.
