Posted in: Exclusive, Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: ana de armas, Ballerina, ian mcshane

Ballerina: Ian McShane Says Winston "Remains The Wick Whisperer"

Ballerina star Ian McShane says, "It's always a pleasure to play Winston because he remains enigmatic and he remains the keeper of the secrets."

There are a couple of characters that have been in all of the John Wick movies, and it feels natural for them to show up in Ballerina as well. One of them is John Wick himself, played by Keanu Reeves, and not just because they made sure this movie takes place before the character dies in the fourth movie. The other is the always mysterious and enigmatic Winston, played by Ian McShane. McShane and Winston are responsible for a good portion of this universe's worldbuilding and lore because they always seem to know a little (or maybe a lot) about everything. He's a central figure at The Continental, and those hotels are one of the best aspects of the entire John Wick universe. McShane is back once again for Ballerina, but his dynamic with Eve, played by Ana de Armas, isn't quite the same as the one he has with John.  But there are parallels. We got the chance to speak to McShane, and when we asked him about what it was like playing a character so shrouded in colors of grey and what challenges it presented, McShane did not hold back, and even dropped a theory of his own as well. 

"It's always a pleasure to play Winston because he remains enigmatic and he remains, you know, the keeper of the secrets," McShane replied. "He remains the Wick whisperer. That's why he survived all these years and all these episodes of the movie. I mean, I'm sure that when they start thinking about doing another John Wick, they go through endless permutations of who can be killed and come back again to decide that. They need to keep Winston as a reminder of who everybody else is. I mean, I think he's the emotional core. If you think of the way it's gone from the beginning, that he is… Is he the father of John Wick? You don't know. But he's known him since he was a kid. You know that they have a relationship that goes back. I think it was very smart to have the same relationship with Eve in this. To have that scene at the beginning of, you know, he rescues her as a child. So there's an emotional resonance between the two of them." Winston, being the father of John Wick, was certainly not a fan theory I've seen floating around, but if Ian McShane says it's a possibility, we're adding it to the list. 

"When she comes to the hotel, he knows who she is," McShane continues, with the story once again positioning Winston as someone who knows a lot or a little about everything, but isn't quite willing to say what it is. "He knows her predicament. He knows, but he advises her, Don't do this. But she knows that she's got her own free will, which is most important. She will do whatever the hell she wants to do. But he'll try and protect her as much as he can within the rules of the hotel, and realizing that there must be consequences, as Keanu says. And Keanu's very smart, he agreed to come back into it. It wouldn't have been the same if he hadn't been there, to have the two of them together in it. I was talking to Ana, and she was saying that people loved the character she played in the Bond movie (No Time To Die, 2021), Paloma, and there should have been more of it. But she said, no, no. One scene was perfect because now she comes back as a whole movie, she's another character, but displaying that same sort of kick-ass attitude she showed in that, you know, as a completely different character. So it's great for her. And she's terrific."

McShane is right that de Armas is one of the big reasons Ballerina works as a film, but the returning players are great to see. It's lovely to see Lance Reddick on screen one more time, and McShane believes Winston is an integral part of this series going forward. That means he better be in the fifth movie, Chad Stahelski. You'll be able to check out the rest of our interview with McShane later this week.

Ballerina Is The First Big-Screen Spin-Off Of John Wick

It's still a little amazing that John Wick, where the only real notable thing about it leading up to its 2o14 release was that they managed to snag Reeves as its leading man, has turned into the franchise juggernaut it is today. That is what happens when you have good people working on a film from the beginning, because it would have been easy for John Wick to fade into obscurity with a ton of other disposable action movies. However, the creative team of director Chad Stahelski and screenwriter Derek Kolstad took the time to build a fascinating world around that action movie. The world of John Wick is the thing that everyone fell in love with, on top of the fact that Reeves is the best at this.

So it wasn't surprising that a sequel was greenlit, and it was even less surprising that in 2017, it was announced that a spin-off film and television show were in the works. The Continental focused on the hotel that plays a central part in the assassin world that John Wick moves in, and Ballerina would be something different. Len Wiseman was brought on to direct, with Wiseman & Shay Hatten, and Emerald Fennell working on the screenplay. Hatten also has a story credit. The cast includes Ana de Armas and returning John Wick players Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston, and Lance Reddick. We also have some new faces, including Norman Reedus, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Gabriel Byrne.

A brief summary has been released: "Taking place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, the film follows Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), who is beginning her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma." The John Wick universe officially expands on June 6, 2025, with the release of Ballerina. Another television show was greenlit back in August 2024, and the casting for the Caine spin-off film has started to drop. We got the confirmation of Chapter 5 and the animated prequel very recently, but it's unclear how far along either project is.

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