Another huge name has jumped aboard Ballerina, the spin-off from the John Wick series which is led by Ana de Armas. The film is rapidly looking like becoming a direct sequel to John Wick rather than a spin-off, based on the calibre of talent and returning characters joining the film from previous installments.
Norman Reedus, best known for his decade of work on AMC's beloved apocalyptic drama series, The Walking Dead, is the latest name to join the case of the film, which will be directed by Len Wiseman, who previously helmed the first two features in the Underworld series, Live Free or Die Hard with Bruce Willis, and the reboot of Total Recall with Colin Farrell, in 2012. Reedus plays Daryl Dixon on The Walking Dead, which has now concluded, and Reedus has moved onto shooting The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, a spin-off based around his character.
Producer Erica Lee told Deadline of Reedus' recruitment to the film: “We’re huge fans of Norman, and we’re confident that the fans will be just as excited as we are that he’s joining the Wick universe. He’ll make an incredible addition to Ballerina.”
Reedus joins franchise alumni Anjelica Huston, who first appeared in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum as 'The Director', the head of a squad of elite black widow ballerinas - the inspiration for this film, alongside Ian McShane as Winston, the owner of the famed Continental hotel, where assassins can come and unwind without fear of threat on their life. Lance Reddick also returns, having previously played Charon, the concierge at the Continental hotel, as does Keanu Reeves - as exclusively revealed by Collider - in the role of John Wick. Catalina Sandino Moreno joined the cast earlier this month in an undisclosed supporting role.
The John Wick franchise has been hugely successful for Lionsgate so far, grossing over $586 million at the worldwide box office. A television spin-off, titled The Continental, is also in the works and will serve as a prequel to the franchise. The show is scheduled to debut on Peacock, although no release date has yet been announced for it.
Reeves has already revealed that the film takes place between John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4, and revealed of the plot during CCXP:
"[she is a] woman who has some very difficult circumstances and who's looking for revenge. Whoever killed her- someone killed her father. Who could that be? And so it's her journey for actually understanding her past. She lost her father at a young age, and she doesn't really know what happened. Only that someone came into the house and killed her father, who had a tattoo. And as we know in John Wick, if you have a tattoo, something's going on."
No official release date for Ballerina has yet been set, but we do know that John Wick: Chapter 4 will arrive on March 24, 2023 in theaters. You can check out the trailer below.