Ana De Armas Wanted Emerald Fennell To Rewrite ‘John Wick’ Spinoff, ‘Ballerina,’ To Add “A Female Touch”

It would appear that “No Time to Die” left actress Ana de Armas in a unique position. She was sent a ton of action scripts and offers to lead action films. The actress did sign up for one of those films, “Ballerina,” which is an upcoming “John Wick” spinoff. However, even then she wasn’t content with just starring in an action film. She wanted to bring a new perspective to the project. And as for the future, it would appear that de Armas’ shortlived action career is already coming to an end.

READ MORE: ‘Ballerina’: Keanu Reeves & Ian McShane Reprise Their ‘John Wick’ Roles For Ana De Armas’ Upcoming Spinoff Film

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Ana de Armas talked about the situation she found herself in after a co-starring role in the most recent James Bond film, “No Time to Die.” The actress could have been the next big action star, but she sees something different in her future. Well, after “Ballerina.”

As mentioned, “Ballerina” is her next big film that marks the first major film spinoff of the “John Wick” franchise. While de Armas was excited by the prospect of working in that universe, she wasn’t just going to accept the role without a bit of modification. That meant she wanted a “female touch” in the script, which led her to speak with Emerald Fennell, the writer-director of “Promising Young Woman.” Eventually, Fennell was hired to take a look at the “Ballerina” script and make some changes that would offer a different perspective on the action film.

READ MORE: Lil Rel Howery Raises Eyebrows At His ‘Deep Water’ Co-Star Ana de Armas’ Best Actress Nom For ‘Blonde’: “For Real?”

“On ‘Ballerina,’ it was important that I got a great script,” explained de Armas. “At the beginning, when I met with Len [Wiseman, the director], I said, ‘We need a pass with a female writer,’ and that was great. What I liked about that is they heard what I said, and what I requested was done for all of our benefit. And now we’ve got a really cool script with a female touch and then Len’s side, which is also very smart.”

But again, de Armas isn’t interested in being the next big female action star. In fact, she revealed that after her time working on “No Time to Die” and the upcoming “Ballerina,” she is hoping to focus on more drama work, in the same vein as “Blonde,” a film she stars in and earned an Oscar nomination for. 

“After Bond, there was kind of a wave of all these action roles, and that was fun. I chose from the ones that I thought were more exciting or with people I wanted to work with,” she said. “I feel like ‘Ballerina’ is going to be the end of that, at least for now, because I’m craving a wave of ‘Blonde’-type films. I want to do work with directors and do character work. I have had the opportunity to meet directors that I want to work with. The people that I’m getting access to is changing, and that makes me very excited.”

So, for the time being, enjoy action star Ana de Armas while you can. It would appear those days are already numbered. “Ballerina” has yet to land a release date, but a late-2023 or early-2024 release seems most likely.