Ballerina director Len Wiseman teases Ana De Armas is more than a ‘female John Wick’

‘Ballerina’ director Len Wiseman has insisted Ana De Armas’ Eve Macarro is more than just a “female John Wick”.

The 36-year-old actress stars as the budding assassin in the upcoming ‘John Wick’ spin-off movie 'From the World of John Wick: Ballerina', though the filmmaker has now emphasised the character is much more than simply a gender-swapped version of Keanu Reeves’ famed hitman.

In a video featurette unveiled at the 2024 Comic Con Experience (CCXP) in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Wiseman explained: “This is not a female John Wick. This is a story about Eve coming into it from the beginning.”

The ‘Underworld’ director admitted ‘Ballerina’ was a “challenge” to make, but insisted audiences would be impressed with the action and De Armas’ performance when the movie hits cinemas in June 2025.

He teased: "It was a challenge. But a hell of a lot of fun. The action is incredible.

“Fans are gonna love what Ana does and how she plays this character.”

The ‘Knives Out’ star shared her reaction to being cast in movie, and revealed she was pushed physically and mentally by the intricate stunt work.

She said: “I was excited. I was nervous. I was worried …

“The way that the fights are built, you have to be prepared for what they throw at you. It was a kind of discipline - physical and mental - that I didn’t know before.”

In the trailer, Eve can be seen wielding a flamethrower to fend off a group of approaching assailants, and De Armas teased the full sequence would blow moviegoers away.

She said: “The flamethrower scene is insane. I think I burn 106 people! I only cried with the first man. The other 105, I was fine.”

Producer Chad Stahelski - who has helmed the ‘John Wick’ series since its debut in 2014 - added the team had focused on delivering on the action spectacles audiences have come to expect from the franchise in ‘Ballerina’.

He explained: “The overall goal is to give ‘John Wick’ action. When you’re watching it with an audience and the place goes nuts … that’s a great experience.”

‘Ballerina’ - which also stars Norman Reedus, Lorenza Izzo, Ian McShane and the late Lance Reddick - follows Eve as she begins her training in the assassin tradition of the Ruska Roma.

While Lionsgate work on ‘Ballerina’, the studio is said to be toying with the possibility of making a fifth mainline ‘John Wick’ movie, though franchise producer Erica Lee recently admitted “the stars have to align” if the project is ever to go ahead.

She told Screen Rant: “First and foremost, I’d love ‘John Wick 5’ and figuring out what that movie looks like and what the story is and how we take the franchise to the next level.

“I think we set this bar so high in [‘John Wick: Chapter 4’] and we left it all on the table. I say we burn the house down when we make the movie.

“So I think to pull it all together, it has to be a great idea and the stars have to align, and there's a lot of pressure to get that right. So that's what I'm most hopeful and excited and anxious about.”