John Wick: Chapter 4 will be gracing movie theaters next month, and the beloved star, Keanu Reeves, has been hyping up the next level action as his most physically demanding yet, calling the movie “banana cakes.” The Wick world is seeing some extension with a Continental series prequel and the Ana De Armas spin-off, Ballerina. It was announced that Wick himself is set to make an appearance, and MovieWeb is reporting on Keanu’s excitement to see Ana De Armas wreak some havoc.
In the latest issue of TotalFilm, the cover story is dedicated to the upcoming John Wick, and as Keanu sits with the magazine, he talks a bit about his involvement with Ballerina, which is set to take place between John Wick: Chapter 3 and John Wick: Chapter 4. Reeves explains, “[The director Len Wiseman] has a vision, but is also embracing, affectionately, the world of John Wick … there’s a reason for [John] to be in Ballerina; it’s very organic. And working with Ana was great. She really loves action, and she’s really good at it.”
Armas is fully embracing her experience with the action as something she’s barely done before. The Ballerina star was equally happy to work with Reeves on the film. “We’ve been in Prague filming for four months. We still have one more month to go. And I’m in pain. You know, my body, my back, everything hurts. I’m complaining, I’m sore, I’m bruised. Bond was fifteen minutes. This is a whole movie, another level. But the other day, Keanu and I were rehearsing our very difficult stunt scene, and this man is just rolling and throwing me and doing crazy stunts. And I’m like — I can’t complain anymore. Because he is doing it! He truly is the best.”
Armas has been able to preview to audiences what she’s able to bring to the franchise when she appeared in the latest James Bond outing, No Time to Die, in a small role where she effectively assisted Bond in taking down multiple foes with both gunplay and fisticuffs.
Reports say that the project started out as a “totally separate, original action spec” and something that was “even more over-the-top than John Wick” and eventually the filmmakers conceived of a way to marry it into the Wick universe.