From the World of John Wick: Ballerina might not be about the Baba Yaga, but Keanu Reeves enjoyed his time back on set.
«I just had like eight days on it, but it was fun to play the role again, and I’m excited for people to see the film,» Reeves said at a screening of the upcoming John Wick documentary Wick is Pain, per THR. While his total screentime remains unknown, Reeves felt the spinoff retained «the spirit of John Wick and has new characters and opens up some stuff, so hopefully people like it,» additionally praising lead actor — and former Knock Knock co-star — Ana de Armas for her performance as assassin Eva Macarro.
While Ballerina‘s first trailer saw Eve confront Wick about being like him, the latest trailer revealed that he will play a semi-antagonistic role, having been sent to prevent Eve from destabilizing the peace between crime bosses. Joining Reeves in the movie are fellow Wick alumni Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston, and Lance Reddick — marking his final movie role before passing away in 2023 — as well as The Walking Dead‘s Norman Reedus as a brand new character named Daniel Pine. Set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4, the story follows Eve as she seeks revenge on those who killed her family, taking down henchmen with all sorts of guns, blades, and even a flamethrower.
Eve Has Her Own Fighting Style
Last year, de Armas teased how Macarro’s fighting style separated itself from Wick’s, attributing it to her character’s dance-based upbringing, with Parabellum briefly offering a glimpse of the Director’s (Huston) assassin school. According to her, «Through the training process and rehearsals, we kind of built these fights and tailored them to the things that I would do best. I was really good at kicking, and also because I’m a ‘ballerina,’ I’m supposed to be good at kicking; I was really good at close fights, like with knives and things like that.»
Reportedly, one of these fights would have been against Continental owner Winston (McShane), but the fight was ultimately cut from the final product. McShane also described his combat style as «dialogue fight scenes,» adding, «We have a scene where you try to get information from me, and that’s like getting blood out of a stone, as we say, trying to get Winston to give anything away.»
The aforementioned Wick is Pain documentary charts the behind-the-scenes setbacks and making of Reeves’ original John Wick, which celebrated its tenth anniversary last year. The actor, meanwhile, isn’t done with his character yet, as Reeves will voice Wick in an upcoming anime prequel and distributor Lionsgate confirmed his return in a fifth John Wick sequel.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina premieres in theaters on June 6.
