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Ana de Armas is adding another action film to her resume. The Cuban actress has just started shooting her new film, “Ballerina,” the first spin-off of the successful “John Wick” franchise.
De Armas will play the titular ballerina, a woman with a specific set of skills who’s training to become an assassin and avenge her family. Much like the John Wick films, “Ballerina” is a movie about revenge and will feature the criminal underworld that’s been built over the course of the Keanu Reeves movies.
According to Collider, Reeves will be making an appearance on “Ballerina”. It’s unknown if his role will be a cameo or if he’ll play a significant part. Other stars from the John Wick universe that will be returning include Ian McShane, reprising his role as Winston, the mysterious hotel manager, and Anjelica Houston, who’s responsible for the training of the ballerinas.
In an interview with Elle, de Armas talked about the project and the one request she made before signing on to it. “It was really important for me to hire a female writer, because to that point when I got involved in the project, 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,” she said. Fennell has written episodes on shows like “Killing Eve” and won an Academy Award for her writing in “Promising Young Woman.” She’s also an actress, starring as Camila Parker Bowles in “The Crown”.
“Ballerina” started shooting this Monday and is directed by Len Wiseman, with a script written by Shay Hatten.