Ana de Armas reveals Emerald Fennell will help write her John Wick spin-off movie

Ana de Armas in No Time to Die
(Image credit: Universal)

Ana de Armas has revealed that the script for her John Wick spin-off movie, titled Ballerina, will be worked on by Promising Young Woman writer/director Emerald Fennell. De Armas is set to star in the film as an assassin. 

"It was really important for me to hire a female writer, because to that point when I got involved in the project, it was only the director, Len Wiseman, and another guy," de Armas told Elle. "And I was like, 'That's not going to work.' So I interviewed, like, five or six female writers. We hired Emerald Fennell, which I was so proud of."

Per Variety, Fennell is helping to "punch up" the script, which has been written by John Wick 3 scribe Shay Hatten and the spin-off's director Wiseman, and it's not yet known if she'll be credited. John Wick helmer Chad Stahelski is on board the project as a producer. 

The film will follow de Armas' young assassin as she seeks revenge against her family's killers. No further casting details have been revealed, so it's unclear if Keanu Reeves will reprise his role as Wick in the movie. 

This isn't the only John Wick spin-off in the works. A TV series called The Continental is also on the way, focusing on Ian McShane's Winston Scott – though, as the show is a prequel, Colin Woodell will be playing a younger version of the character. 

Elsewhere in the Wick-verse, John Wick 4 is coming in 2023, and John Wick 5 has been confirmed. "We keep finding new and interesting ways to have John Wick suffer," Stahelski has said of the fourquel. "That's where the action comes from. Figure out how to make him suffer, and then design backward."

Ballerina doesn't yet have a release date, while John Wick 4 hits theaters on March 24, 2023. In the meantime, check out our guide to all of 2022's upcoming major movie release dates for all the year has in store for us. 

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.