The Big Picture
Ballerina
, the
John Wick
spin-off, has been delayed a year to add new material to improve the film.
Ian McShane confirms Chad Stahelski was brought in to uphold the franchise’s reputation.
McShane criticized
The Continental
prequel series for not consulting Keanu Reeves and others.
Ballerina, the John Wick spin-off starring Ana de Armas, has delayed its release by a year to allow for the filming of new material, and now, one of the stars of the franchise has shed light on the reasons behind that decision. Ian McShane, who plays Winston in the films, recently appeared on BBC’s The One Show and spoke quite candidly about the studio bringing in John Wick’s director Chad Stahelski after they weren’t satisfied with the original cut of the spin-off.
Although all major films factor in reshoots as part of their schedule, this is not exactly what’s happening with Ballerina, according to McShane, who added that it was all new material that is being added to, in his words, “Make it better.” The action in the Wick films is industry-leading, and acclaimed worldwide, and upholding the reputation of those films is something that McShane holds very dear.
“They’re new-shooting for
Ballerina. Y
ou know, it’s like, they’ve gotta protect the franchise.We did it about a year ago. And they’ve looked at it and Chad’s come in.
And they wanna make it better cause they have to protect [the franchise].
”
McShane’s strong feelings about the reputation of the franchise were made abundantly clear when one of the show’s hosts then proceeded to inquire about The Continental, the John Wick prequel series released on Peacock. McShane was withering in his comments, claiming that no one—including Keanu Reeves—was consulted on how best to portray the characters, to the series’ detriment, in his opinion.
“They never asked anybody about it. They just went and did it. Just went and did it. Somebody asked Keanu and me about it. We both went, ‘I don’t know. Nobody ever asked us about it.’”
What Is ‘Ballerina’ About?
McShane appears in the film alongside fellow Wick alumni Reeves and the late Lance Reddick. The official plot summary states that the film is about “a young female assassin [seeking] revenge against the people who killed her family.” Speaking at CCXP in 2022 while promoting John Wick: Chapter 4, Reeves revealed that de Armas’ character, Rooney, was “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.”
Ballerina will now drop on June 6, 2025. The John Wick franchise can be streamed now on Netflix, while the limited series The Continental is available on Peacock.
Ballerina
A young female assassin seeks revenge against the people who killed her family.
Release Date June 7, 2025
Watch on Netflix