Following her scene-stealing performance in the James Bond film, “No Time To Die,” some Bond fans were annoyed when the Bond Broccoli producers said they wouldn’t be making spin-off films with characters like Ana De Armas’ Paloma character from Cary Fukunaga’s spy movie. No worries, their loss is a big win for a somewhat similar elegant killer role in the “John Wick” spin-off film, “Ballerina.”
Deadline reports that “Ballerina, “a female-led “John Wick” spin-off first announced in 2019, is moving forward, and Armas will have the lead role. “Ballerinas” is being directed by Lens Wiseman, known for action films like several installments of the “Underworld” franchise and the 2012 “Total Recall” reboot.
Shay Hatten penned “Ballerina,” the same screenwriter behind “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” the upcoming “Chapter 4” and “Chapter 5” of the franchise, so he’s well-versed in the Wickverse.
“Ballerina” follows a young female assassin as she seeks revenge against those who killed her family. Following “No Time To Die,” Armas’ next appearance is expected to be in the highly-anticipated Marilyn Monroe biopic “Blonde,” directed by Andrew Dominik and for release in 2022, amid many rumors about its alleged problems at Netflix. However, she could also appear next in the Russo brothers’ $200 million action pic “The Gray Man,” which also stars Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans.
Meanwhile, the next installment in the Wick-verse “John Wick: Chapter 4,” directed once again by Chad Stahelski, is being set for release on May 27, 2022, delayed a year after the ongoing pandemic. Bubbling concurrently next to all these projects is “The Continental” STARZ spin-off series prequel that just hired actor Colin Woodell to play the young Winston character.