Ian McShane Breaks Silence on Ballerina’s Delays and Views on The Continental

Ian McShane recently spoke about the reason behind the John Wick spin-off, Ballerina’s delay. The film will feature Ana de Armas as the titular protagonist. 

It is set in the world of Keanu Reeves’ John Wick films and will include various characters from the popular franchise, including Winston Scott, the New York Continental Hotel’s owner. 

The movie was due for release in June 2024 but was postponed to 2025 to add some new action sequences.  

In a recent conversation on the British talk show The One Show, Ian McShane revealed that the film is not going through reshoots but filming new scenes to add to the final output. The original John Wick director, Chad Stahelski, is involved in the shoots. 

McShane said the delays are because of the need to “protect the franchise” and better the final production. He also said that he hasn’t watched the recent John Wick spin-off series, The Continental, and hasn’t consulted Reeves about it. Read his comments here: 

Why would I see [ The Continental] ? They never asked anybody about it, they just went and did it. Yeah, they just went and did it without asking me and Keanu about it. We both went, “I don’t know, you never asked us about it.”

The original 2014 John Wick film was made on a meager budget of $20 million. However, it became a massive hit, leading to numerous sequels breaking box office records. 

John Wick | Source: IMDb

Lionsgate now plans to expand the John Wick franchise and take it well beyond 2025 with Ballerina and a possible John Wick 5. They do not want to go wrong with Ballerina, so the makers are taking some time to shoot new sequences. This will ensure the high quality of the final film and live up to the high expectations. 

Meanwhile, Stahelski will also have to focus on the new Highlander reboot with Henry Cavill alongside the John Wick franchise. Therefore, it makes sense to adjust the timeline so that the film is good enough to sustain its sequels if Stahelski focuses elsewhere. 

About John Wick : Chapter 4

John Wick 4 is an American neo-noir action thriller film and the fourth installment in the John Wick franchise. The franchise is created by Derek Kolstad and stars Keanu Reeves in the role of a retired legendary hitman John Wick.

John Wick must avoid run-ins with The High Table and survive long enough to complete his mission, along with the help of The Bowery King, who was left for dead by The High Table and now is helping John Wick take them down.

John Wick 4 released on March 24, 2023.

Pratyasha Sarkar

Officially a student of literature, but unofficially a defence lawyer of fictional characters. I am mostly either feasting on chocolate chip cookies or binge watching sitcoms. Also, I firmly believe mint ice cream tastes like toothpaste.

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