Posted in: Exclusive, Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: Ballerina, len wiseman

Director Len Wiseman Brought To Ballerina What He Would Want As A Fan

Ballerina director Len Wiseman explains John Wick's appearance had to be crucial to Eve's story, and be more than just a cameo.

Ballerina is in theaters, and people seem to be liking the newest corner of the John Wick universe. The John Wick films are massive and probably one of the most consistent franchises in terms of quality to come out in the last decade or so. They feel unique and refreshing, so integrating something new would always be something that needed to be approached carefully. The first approach, The Continental, didn't feel like John Wick at all, and fans rejected the series because of that. So, Ballerina needed to be two things at once; it needed to feel consistent with this established cinematic universe while also being something new. It's a tight line to walk, but when we spoke to director Len Wiseman about it, he didn't see it as a challenge at all. Instead, he saw it as an opportunity and approached it with the idea of "what would I want from this film if I weren't directing it?"

"I really do approach it as more of an exciting opportunity than a challenge," Wiseman said. "If it was something that was kind of daunting, I wouldn't be the guy for the job. I have a love of the films, the tone, the world. So [I love] having an opportunity to come in and expand on that and explore and be able to take that world into other experiences and other journeys that the audience can go on. I really approach it from, if I wasn't directing, loving the franchise, what would I want to experience? What would I want to be familiar? What would I be kind of mad or sad about if it didn't show up?" 

It was unclear for a little while whether Keanu Reeves's John Wick would appear in Ballerina, and it turns out he wasn't always supposed to be there. Wiseman explained that this was Eve's story, not John's, and if John was going to be there, it had to be more than just a cameo.

"You know, one of the things, just John Wick and Keanu himself, I had concerns at one point because when we were developing it, I didn't want Keanu to show up as a cameo," Wiseman continued. "If John Wick is here, I want it to be crucial to Ana [de Armas]'s story, that plays into just the consequences of her choices, and really has meaning rather than it being a cameo. Because that's what I would like as an audience. I'd feel cheated if I didn't feel the tone was [right]. But really, it's more jumping in, way more excitement than it is a sort of daunting kind of mindset."

One of the things that has made the John Wick films so good is that you can tell everyone involved has so much passion and respect for every aspect of the film, from the story to the stunts. So bringing that kind of adoration to Ballerina as a director, while also realizing that fan service without depth is sometimes worse than no fan service at all, was probably the right way to walk that delicate line. Be sure to check out our full interview with Wiseman 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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