Tag: Ana De Armas

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‘John Wick’ Actor Ian McShane Says ‘Ballerina’ Reshoots In Budapest Meant To Hit Chad Stahelski’s Standard & Protect The Franchise: “They Want To Make It Better”

This week it was announced by Lionsgate that their high-profile “John Wick” spinoff “Ballerina” would be getting a full-year delay as they hope to beef up the action sequences on the pic led by Oscar-nominee Ana De Armas (“Blade Runner 2049,” “No Time To Die”) and directed by Len Wiseman (“Underworld”). News came not too soon after the reveal that director Chad Stahelski would be the main overseer of both “Highlander” and “John Wick” franchises for Lionsgate moving forward.

The BBC chat show “The One Show” was able to speak with actor Ian McShane, who has been playing the character of Winston for four “John Wick” installments and will be reprising the part alongside Keanu Reeves and the late Lance Reddick in the spinoff. McShane gave some brief insight into the reshoots that will have Stahelski’s involvement, and they’re adding new scenes to, as he put it, “protect the franchise.”

“Then we go on to Budapest. It’s not reshoots it’s new shoots, new shooting for ‘Ballerina’ which is the spinoff with Ana de Armas of the ‘John Wick’ franchise. It’s like they’ve got to protect the franchise and…I did it a year ago, we did the movie, ‘Ballerina,’ and they’ve looked at it and Chad’s come in. The guy who directed all the ‘John Wick” movies and they want to make it better because…Keanu is in it as well and it takes place between ‘John Wick 3’ and ‘John Wick 4.'”

If you’re not aware of what the spinoff is about it will focus on the character of Rooney, who was briefly seen in “John Wick 3” but played by a different actress. Like John, she was adopted into the Ruska Roma, a criminal syndicate connected to Russian/Belarusian organized crime. They take in orphans and turn them into skilled assassins over decades, in the case of Rooney she was trained as a ballerina, hence the title. We’ll see Rooney navigating her own path in this world of assassins including the return of Anjelica Huston as The Director alongside new additions like Norman Reedus (“The Boondock Saints”) and Gabriel Bryne (“The Usual Suspects”).

When asked about the Starz spinoff prequel series “The Continental,” McShane had a surprise reveal about how little participation the film folks had on the show despite it focusing on a younger version of his character.

The Continental: From the World of John Wick (TV Mini Series 2023) - IMDb

“They never asked anyone about it, they just went and did it…they never asked us about it.”

“Ballerina” has been delayed a full year with the release date pushed to June 6, 2025. You can view that brief segment on The One Show with McShane below, thanks to Twitter user Adam Khan.

SOURCE: THE ONE SHOW VIA TWITTER

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‘John Wick’ Spinoff Movie ‘Ballerina’ Starring Ana De Armas Delayed To June 2025 As Additional Action Scenes Will Be Shot

Yesterday, Lionsgate announced that the studio would be delaying their highly anticipated cinematic spinoff to the “John Wick” franchise. The upcoming film titled “Ballerina” will focus on a deadly assassin named Rooney from Wick’s adoptive family, The Ruska Roma, a criminal syndicate that takes in orphans like John to train them over years into skilled killers that will end up earning for the organization. Cuban-American actress Ana De Armas (“No Time To Die,” “The Gray Man”) will be leading the film as Rooney, the titular ballerina, with a supporting cast that consists of Norman Reedus (“Boondock Saints,” “The Walking Dead”), Gabriel Byrne (“The Usual Suspects”), Anjelica Huston returning as The Director, Keanu Reeves appearing as John Wick, franchise alumn Ian McShane back in the Winston part, and the late Lance Reddick having shot scenes as Charon.

The studio revealed that “Ballerina” has moved from its prime June 7, 2024, spot to June 6, 2025. This would delay the action pic an entire year. It’s directed by Len Wiseman (“Live Free or Die Hard,” “Underworld” franchise), and multiple trade reports, such as the one from Deadline, are citing the delay is that newly minted franchise overseer Chad Stahelski can amp up the spinoff with some additional action scenes.

A big reason for the return of Wick and Charon is the events of the spinoff are set between “John Wick 3” and just before “John Wick 4.”

This popular action franchise is known for adding actors from various beloved action movies from the past and “Ballerina” is no different. We’re expected to have a cameo from French actress Anne Parillaud, who played the lead role in Luc Besson‘s own iconic 1990 assassin film “La Femme Nikita.” An action movie we’ve long assumed had a huge impact on Stahelski’s visual style for the franchise and could be a reason why the last installment took place in Paris.

Taking that open June 7 spot will be Rupert Sanders‘ (“Ghost In The Shell”) remake of “The Crow” which has Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård (“John Wick 4,” “Atomic Blonde”) playing Eric Draven, a talented rock musician murdered alongside his girlfriend Shelly on Devil’s Night only for Draven to be brought back to life by a crow to enact revenge against their killers. Speaking of Stahelski, the stuntman turned director worked on the original 1994 feature incarnation of the comic book film that sadly saw the death of star Brandon Lee after a stunt with guns went wrong. Lee’s death led filmmakers like Stahelski to engage in greater safety standards on sets when it comes to weapons like firearms. While you might not realize this at first glance, most of the gunfire in the “John Wick” movies is mostly done with digital effects to achieve the muzzle flashes and smoke.

SOURCE: LIONSGATE & DEADLINE

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Lionsgate Chairman Confirms ‘John Wick 5’ In Development & Teases More Wickaverse Films

This month the “John Wick” franchise has earned an impressive $1 billion at the global box office, which is a huge achievement given the R-rated franchise has been able to increasingly grow it’s audience which each installment. The studio is already working on a handful of spinoffs but finally confirmed that a fifth installment is going ahead.

During a Lionsgate earnings call via SlashFilm, studio chairman Joseph Drake has revealed that “John Wick 5” is indeed in development and suggests even more films are coming beyond the sequel and the spinoff “Ballerina,” starring Oscar-nominee Ana de Armas.

“We’re in development on 3 others, including [John Wick 5] and including a television series, ‘The Continental,’ will be airing soon. And so we’re building out the world and when that 5 movie comes, will be an organic — will be organically grown out of how we’re starting to tell those stories. But you can rely on regular cadence with John Wick.”

On the film side, Drake stopped short of revealing what what is coming other than “Ballerina” and “John Wick 5.” However, given how “John Wick 4” ended there is an expectation we could be seeing a film about Rina Sawayama‘s Akira or Donnie Yen’s Cane as a end credit scene teases that those two will finally come to blows. There had also been previous calls from fans to give Halle Berry‘s Sofia from “John Wick 3” her own film too and Laurence Fishburne‘s Bowery King could be further explored alongside other side characters.

Keanu Reeves will appear in “Ballerina” as that film takes place in during the six months between the third and fourth movies as Wick recovers from his injuries. That spinoff is set to be released in theaters with a prime summer date of June 7, 2024.

When it comes to “John Wick 5” the last film ***SPOILER ALERT*** seemingly kills John off-screen. Although, nothing says they didn’t fake his death potentially to avoid further retribution. Then again, if Wick is indeed dead another way to go would be hand off the franchise to Ana de Armas’ Rooney, who just happens to be another assassin from the Ruska Roma. Originally, it was said that the fourth and fifth film would be shot back-to-back but that ultimately didn’t happen.

We’re unsure when exactly “John Wick 5” might begin shooting as director Chad Stahelski is likely going to pursue one of his many other films in development such as the “Highlander” reboot and his samurai flick “Ghost of Tsushima” for Sony Pictures based on the acclaimed PlayStation video game.

SOURCE: LIONSGATE

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‘John Wick’ Spinoff Movie ‘Ballerina’ Lands Cameo From ‘Nikita’ Star Anne Parillaud & Set Photo

This weekend sees the release of John Wick 4 and longtime director Chad Stahelski has talked about taking a much deserved hiatus from the action-packed franchise. Another film is horizon set directly in the John Wick universe with Ballerina. A spinoff feature film that will see Oscar-nominee Ana de Armas (Blonde) star in the lead after standout supporting roles in high-profile projects like No Time To Time, Blade Runner 2049, and The Gray Man.

One of the landmark films cited as inspiration for Ballerina is Luc Besson’s breakout European thriller La Femme Nikita that starred Anne Parillaud. It centers on a troubled young woman, Nikita, sentenced to lethal injection after a robbery with her street gang cohorts goes wrong leading to multiple deaths including her killing a police officer point blank with a handgun. When she wakes in a secret facility, it’s revealed that Nikita has been selected to become a government assassin. An American remake, Point of No Return, starring Bridget Fonda and Gabriel Byrne would be released in 1993.

Parillaud is now confirmed to appear in Ballerina joining a stellar group of veteran international actors playing various characters in the John Wick universe.

Last month, the French actress posted on her official Instagram account that her role would be simply a cameo and was shooting scenes in Prague. Parillaud has been listed on film’s IMDB page but this is now solid confirmation she is indeed in the spinoff as the actress hadn’t been mentioned in previous trade reports concerning the cast.

Ballerina will focus on Rooney, a young woman connected to the Ruska Roma (Wick’s homestead criminal syndicate) who uses her obtained deadly skills to get revenge when her family is killed by hitmen.

Len Wiseman (Die Hard 4, Underworld) directs from a script penned by Shay Hatten (John Wick 3, John Wick 4) and Oscar-winning screenwriter Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman). Other members of the supporting cast includes Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Gabriel Byrne (Point of No Return, The Usual Suspects), and Catalina Sandino Moreno. Due to the film being set during the six month gap between the events of John Wick 3 and John Wick 4 we’ll see the return of Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Anjelica Houston, and the late Lance Reddick in one of his final performances.

We can also share this nifty set photo from Ballerina with Reedus and de Armas.

Speaking of Luc Besson, The Ronin can confirm the spinoff was shot by French cinematographer Romain Lacourbas (The Witcher). The director of photography’s film credits include two action movies that were co-written and produced by Besson with Liam Neeson’s Taken 2 and Colombiana (a spiritual sequel to The Professional) that starred Zoe Saldaña.

Lionsgate hasn’t officially given Ballerina a release date but we’re hopeful that the studio gives the action pic a spot later this year, so they can capitalize on the goodwill of John Wick 4’s success. We’ll just have to wait a little longer before the studio makes an official announcement.

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Halle Berry Confirms Sofia Won’t Return For ‘John Wick 4’ & Teases A Possible Spinoff Movie

While there are a lot of returning cast members from the John Wick franchise appearing in John Wick 4, Halle Berry’s badass character Sofia won’t be reuniting with Keanu Reeves in the upcoming installment.

Berry is on the promotional rounds for her directorial debut Bruised, a Netflix sports drama seeing the actress play an MMA fighter. She revealed to IGN during an interview that while Sofia won’t be showing up in the next film, a spinoff film could be in the cards.

“There could possibly be a Sofia…her own movie. So she might not be in John Wick, but she might be doing her own thingy-thingy,” Berry told IGN.

Lionsgate has yet to announce plans for a Sofia movie and this could be a new revelation from Berry.

John Wick spinoffs are already in the works with the prequel series The Continental at Starz, and a feature film called Ballerina led by Cuban actress Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049, No Time To Die) with director Len Wiseman (Live Free r Die Hard, Underworld) behind the camera.

You might remember that during the Pierce Brosnan era of the James Bond franchise, her character Jinx from Die Another Day was supposed to land a spinoff film, but that ultimately never happened as producers focused on rebooting 007 with Daniel Craig’s Casino Royale.

John Wick 4 was recently bumped to a release date of March 24, 2023.

SOURCE: IGN

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Ana De Armas Tapped To Lead ‘John Wick’ Spinoff Film ‘Ballerina’

The John Wick franchise is expanding beyond the Keanu Reeves installments as Lionsgate is already pushing forward with a prequel series The Continential at Starz. They’re also developing a female-led film set in the same world of assassins and previously have hired action director Len Wiseman, known for projects like Underworld, Live Free or Die Hard, and had been attached to helm a sixth Die Hard for 20th Century Studios before the studio was acquired by Disney.

Ballerina seemingly follows a female assassin from John Wick’s Belarusian syndicate that trains orphaned boys and girls to become killers. Her character will track down the people who killed her parents. This world that assassins inhabit is controlled by The High Table, a group of syndicate leaders from across the globe that rule the underworld with an iron fist. The mythology established in the last three movies suggests a very short but lavished life for these hired killers.

It looks like Lionsgate and Len Wiseman have finally found their lead.

Deadline reports that Cuban actress Ana De Armas (Blade Runner 2049, Knives Out) is now in talks with Lionsgate for the main role after recently stealing scenes in No Time To Die and wrapped on the massive spy flick The Gray Man for the Russo Brothers. It’s certainly a huge get for the production and will likely take the sting away from them recently hiring the very awful Mel Gibson for the television series.

Interestingly enough, some of Ana’s first roles were in the thriller Knock Knock and Exposed opposite Keanu Reeves, who might appear in the pic in a brief cameo. We might even get a nod to Ballerina in John Wick 4, which will debut in theaters next May.

There had been rumblings of the studio looking at younger actresses but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Bond Producer Says ‘No Time To Die’ Supporting Characters Won’t Be Getting Spinoffs & Dismisses Idea Of Future Spinoffs Too

No Time To Die will see the end of the Daniel Craig era opening the door for a hard-reboot recasting all roles, not just James Bond. However, EON’s Barbara Broccoli has now downplayed the idea of spinoffs or even seeing more of the supporting characters of No Time To Die in solo projects.

Here is what she said to Fandango.

“We have not done [a spinoff] in the past and I don’t think we have any plans to do it in the future.”

I’m sure folks had been banking on Lashana Lynch’s Nomi getting her own movie or spinoff, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.

At one time, there had been rumblings of Michelle Yeoh and Halley Berry’s characters from the Pierce Brosnan era getting their own films, that also never materialized.

This likely means that they’d push against the idea of branching-out of the franchise drowning in content and will seemingly simply focus on the Bond movies, given how tough they are to put together. While MGM Studios is most likely going to be bought by Amazon (hasn’t been approved or finalized), this doesn’t mean that the streaming service will be suddenly able to bully EON around, who are the main stewarts of the Bond franchise and will likely continue to keep creative control.

Broccoli has also previously told BBC Radio 4 they’re not rushing into Bond 26 and won’t even consider the casting search until 2022 at the earliest. Meaning that there aren’t any frontrunners or anyone signed on, despite years of internet rumors.

“We want Daniel to have his time of celebration. Next year we’ll start thinking about the future.”

Today, marks the wide release of No Time To Die.

NO TIME TO DIE – Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. 

SOURCE: FANDANGO

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‘The Gray Man’: Russo Brothers Have Wrapped On Netflix’s Most Expensive Original Film To Date

Netflix and The Russo Brothers are teaming to bring the streaming service’s most expensive original film with a feature adaptation of The Gray Man, a spy thriller that is said to have a budget of over $200 million.

To those who lurk in the shadows, he’s known as the Gray Man. He is a legend in the covert realm, moving silently from job to job, accomplishing the impossible and then fading away. And he always hits his target. Always. But there are forces more lethal than Gentry in the world. Forces like money. And power. And there are men who hold these as the only currency worth fighting for. And in their eyes, Gentry has just outlived his usefulness. But Court Gentry is going to prove that, for him, there’s no gray area between killing for a living and killing to stay alive…

The impressive cast consists of Ryan Gosling (The Nice Guys, Drive, Blade Runner 2049), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer, Captain America 1-3, Avengers 1-4), Ana De Armas (No Time To Die, Blade Runner 2049, Knives Out), Wagner Moura (Narcos), Jessica Henwick, Dhanush, Rege-Jean Page (Bridgerton, Dungeons & Dragons), Billy Bob Thornton (Fargo), Alfre Woodard (Luke Cage), Julia Butters (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood), Eme Ikwuakor (Inhumans, Moonfall) and Scott Haze (Venom, Jurassic World: Dominion, Minari).

The sibling filmmakers have announced over the weekend that they have wrapped on the film.

It’s been said that Netflix hopes The Gray Man will be the first of multiple installments as they see it has potential to become their own Mission: Impossible or James Bond franchise. However, we’ll have to see if spending all that money was worth it as many of the original films from Netflix make for flashy trailers but never really live up to the hype and tend to lack the quality of studio blockbusters.

Netflix brass recently told Deadline they have zero plans to make a follow-up to Michael Bay’s 6 Underground starring Ryan Reynolds, something I’m sure they believed would become a massive success for them too.

They’re likely crossing their fingers that Red Notice starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds (another pricey action film) will also become a franchise player for them as well.

SOURCE: THE RUSSO BROTHERS

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Russo Brothers Announce Their Spy Flick ‘The Gray Man’ Has Started Filming With ‘Fast & Furious’ Franchise Cinematographer Stephen F. Windon

Netflix’s most expensive original film has officially started production according to a Twitter post made by The Gray Man’s directors, The Russo Brothers. The film’s budget is said to be well over $200 million dollars and is expected to be a large-scale spy film, given the money involved we’re assuming there should be some over-the-top action sequences.

Production was reportedly taking place in Long Beach, California and it will reunite them with Captain America/Avengers star Chris Evans.

To those who lurk in the shadows, he’s known as the Gray Man. He is a legend in the covert realm, moving silently from job to job, accomplishing the impossible and then fading away. And he always hits his target. Always. But there are forces more lethal than Gentry in the world. Forces like money. And power. And there are men who hold these as the only currency worth fighting for. And in their eyes, Gentry has just outlived his usefulness. But Court Gentry is going to prove that, for him, there’s no gray area between killing for a living and killing to stay alive…

It’s cast includes Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans Ana De Armas, Wagner Moura, Jessica Henwick, Dhanush, Rege-Jean Page, Billy Bob Thornton, Alfre Woodard, and Julia Butters.

Their post confirms the cinematographer will be Stephen F. Windon, the director of photography for The Fast & The Furious films going back to Tokyo Drift. Stephen also worked on Star Trek Beyond, Sonic The Hedgehog, and G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

https://twitter.com/Russo_Brothers/status/1371858919325200391

SOURCE: THE RUSSO BROTHERS

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‘The Gray Man’: Russo Brothers May Begin Shooting End of January In Long Beach – Spy Flick Adding ‘Captain America: Civil War’ & ‘F9’ Stunt Coordinator

A new report from Deadline is suggest that the California production start on Netflix’s $200+ million budgeted spy flick The Gray Man from Avengers: Endgame directors The Russo Brothers might be seeing a production delay pushing the film’s start into early February or late January from it’s original planned start in mid-January due to positive COVID-19 tests. Netflix is hoping the expensive project could become a franchise on the level of James Bond.

The script was penned by the Russos with help from Marvel Studios alumni Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

The Gray Man is the debut novel by Mark Greaney, published in 2009 by Jove Books. It also is the first novel to feature the Gray Man, freelance assassin and former CIA operative Court Gentry. The action thriller will follow Gentry (Gosling) as he’s hunted across the globe by Lloyd Hansen (Evans), a former cohort at the CIA. The film is based on the first installment of the best-selling Gray Man book series.

It’s impressive cast already consists of Ryan Gosling (The Nice Guys, Drive, Blade Runner 2049), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer, Avengers franchise, Captain America franchise), Ana de Armas (No Time To Die, Knives Out, Blade Runner 2049), Jessica Henwick (The Matrix 4, Godzilla vs Kong, Game of Thrones, Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Wagner Moura (Narcos, Elysium), Dhanush, and young actress Julia Butters (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood).

The Ronin has also learned that 2nd unit director and veteran stunt coordinator Spiro Razatos is expected to join the spy movie’s production team. Razatos’ extensive credits include The Expendables, Fast Five, X-Men: First Class, Fast & Furious 6, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Furious 7, Captain America: Civil War, Kong: Skull Island, The Fate of The Furious, Venom, 21 Bridges, Bad Boys For Life, and F9.

The Russo Brothers are busy bees as they’ve wrapped on their Tom Holland (Spider-Man 3) crime drama Cherry and are already lining up their next film The Electric State for Universal Pictures starring Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things, Godzilla vs Kong). They’ve also been developing a live-action feature film based on the anime series Battle of The Planets and have considered returning to Marvel Studios to direct an event film such as Secret Wars.

A release date for The Gray Man has yet to be set by Netflix.