The world of John Wick is about to get bigger.
Ballerina, the first cinematic spinoff of the John Wick action franchise, has landed a director in Underworld and Live Free Or Die Hard helmer Len Wiseman.
Needless to say, the plot synopsis for the film are being guarded by a cadre of deadly assassins though Hollywood reporter is stating that the film will center on “a female assassin.” In the latest John Wick film, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, we saw Keanu Reeves’s hunted and on-the-run assassin Wick, he paid a visit to an old woman known as The Director, who had helped raise him in the world of assassins he now finds himself at odds with. The meeting with the Director took place at a ballet school, so presumably that will serve as the connection to Ballerina.
Not surprisingly, Ballerina is being written by Shay Hatten, who worked on the screenplay for John Wick: Chapter 3. He also has a credit on the upcoming Netflix zombie film Army Of The Dead from director Zack Snyder.
Ballerina is not the only John Wick expansion that Lionsgate, the franchise’s home, is developing. There is also The Continental, a prequel TV series centering on the New York hotel that serves as a safe haven for hitmen and assassins. Starz has ordered the project but no premier date has been announced.
So are we calling this the WickVerse now?
While I am excited to see that we’ll get to visit a new corner of the John Wick world, I find that enthusiasm dampened somewhat by the fact that it will be Len Wiseman taking us on that trip. I have never been much of a fan of his work on the Underworld series and his installment of the Die Hard franchise, Live Free Or Die Hard, was also less than spectacular.
No release date has been set for Ballerina.
Meanwhile, John Wick 4 is scheduled for a May 21, 2021 release.
