The action movie Ana de Armas would have loved to star in: “It’s classic, but not old”
It’s been just over a decade since John Wick first stormed into cinemas. Since then, the franchise has exploded, spawning three high-grossing sequels and a television spin-off, The Continental, which aired on Peacock but was cancelled after a single season. Now the universe is expanding again with From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, also known simply as Ballerina, set to hit theatres on June 6th, 2025.
The film takes place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and follows Eve Macarro, played by Ana de Armas, a ballerina-turned-assassin who seeks revenge for the murder of her father.
At the forefront is the film’s star, de Armas, who is now leading the press duties to promote the project, which has already been generating buzz weeks ahead of its wide release. The journey to this point has been long for her. The Cuban-born actor has spent the past decade landing roles in major feature films, including Blade Runner 2049, Knives Out, No Time to Die, and Blonde. Her bombshell appearance has often complemented her screen presence, but it takes a backseat in Ballerina, where she proves she can be an all-action star.
The whirlwind journey to becoming an action lead has been a big focus during Ballerina’s press tour. Recently, de Armas appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and talked about filming a fight scene with Keanu Reeves. She mentioned that the two first met years ago when she was still an up-and-coming actor and starred opposite him as an antagonist in the 2015 thriller Knock Knock, the role helped launch her career. Now, she’s sharing the screen with him again, this time within the cinematic universe built around the character Reeves made famous.
The fun didn’t stop there, either. Last week, de Armas took over Lionsgate’s Reddit profile and hosted an AMA (Ask Me Anything) with users about her career and anything else they were curious about ahead of Ballerina’s release. She answered a range of questions, from the intensity of her workouts for the role to her career path and what led her to the action genre. One fan asked which action movie she would have loved to star in. Her choice was a clear fan favourite, especially among those who enjoy seeing a woman take the lead and deliver serious action.
“If I could be in an old action movie, Kill Bill. It’s classic, not old,” Armas wrote back. Both Kill Bill: Vol 1 and Vol 2 organically reenergized the idea of having a female lead in an action film thanks to director Quentin Tarantino and the film’s star, Uma Thurman. With the movie drawing inspiration from many old-school Hong Kong action films as well as classic revenge tales like Lady Snowblood, Tarantino’s epic tale about the wrath of a wronged woman is one of the greats. Before the Kill Bill efforts, it was rare to see so much bloodshed at the hands of a woman who was centre stage in an action film.
Time will tell what will become of a film like Ballerina, but making a case for wanting to thrive in a universe created by the likes of QT is definitely a reason to be excited about this summer’s next female-led action film. Let’s also not forget that Tarantino is currently crafting his upcoming tenth and final film. Whatever it may be, perhaps adding de Armas to the cast wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
See the world of John Wick expand on June 6th as Ballerina hits cinemas.
