There Is Going To Be A John Wick Spinoff Movie

(Deadline) “Lionsgate has set Len Wiseman to direct Ballerina, an action spinoff of the lucrative John Wick franchise.

Ballerina focuses on a young female assassin who seeks revenge against the people who killed her family. The picture is on a fast track, with a script by Shay Hatten, whose credits include the Zack Snyder-directed Army of the Dead for Netflix and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

The picture is being produced by Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Chad Stahelski, with John Wick star Keanu Reeves an executive producer. The female character was glimpsed in the last John Wick film and it isn’t clear at this point whether Reeves will be in the film, though if he does it will be a cameo. Unity Phelan is in the credits of Parabellum under the character Ballerina, but I am not sure who will be the star of the spinoff.”

I get that the Wick franchise makes money and draws a lot of eyeballs, but I think we’re closing in on the limit of how far it can stretch. All three movies have been great for the action genre, but we’re already setup for a fourth movie AND there is a series based off the continental hotel releasing as well. The character is already one of the top tier action heros in the business, so I would hate to see his rep start to get watered down. The good news is that Len Wiseman is a solid director, and there is obviously a continuity with Shay Hatten returning to do the script. The concept of this presumably having something to do with the Ballerina troupe run by the Anjelica Huston’s character in the third movie is also intriguing because of the Russian Mafia aspect. I don’t think this is destined to fail by any means, but it will be an uphill battle for it to succeed without the actual character of John Wick as the protagonist.