Ana de Armas Teases Epic Battle With John Wick

Ana de Armas confirms an epic battle with Keanu Reeves in the upcoming John Wick spinoff, Ballerina.

By Britta DeVore | Updated

Ana de armas

Anticipation has been continuously building for Ana de Armas fans who are excited to see the Knives Out actress jump into the John Wick universe via the spinoff feature Ballerina, but she may have fanned the flames even more while teasing a showdown between her titular character and Keanu Reeves’ trained assassin. During a recent sit down with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, which you can see below, de Armas said that training for and filming the anticipated fight scenes left her “complaining” as she was “in pain” and “bruised.” But all that changed when she squared off against Keanu Reeves, who the actress said was “just rolling and throwing me and doing crazy stunts.”

“I can’t complain anymore,” Ana de Armas said when talking about her and her John Wick spinoff co-star rehearsing what she referred to as a “very difficult stunt scene.” Although she’s had her turn in several action movies including The Gray Man and 2021’s Bond flick No Time to Die, the performer said that Ballerina was “another level” of stunt work. But when de Armas, who is 34 years old, saw a 58-year-old Keanu Reeves “rolling” around and nailing each stunt thrown his way, the actress knew that she could do it too, adding that Reeves “truly is the best.”

Ana de Armas’ starring role in the John Wick offshoot film Ballerina, is a highly anticipated one with the franchise testing the waters on spinoffs centered around their beloved gun fu films. The story will take place between John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4 and will re-introduce audiences to Rooney (de Armas), a ballerina who moonlights as an assassin and is on a mission to avenge those who murdered her family. Along with Keanu Reeves, audiences can expect to see several other familiar faces in the upcoming spinoff with Ian McShane reprising his role as Continental Hotel owner Winston Scott, Lance Reddick as the Continental’s concierge Charon, and Anjelica Huston as “The Director.”

John Wick Ballerina

Along with Ana de Armas’ turn in the driver’s seat, fans are excited about another John Wick spinoff in the form of a prequel series set to be released on Peacock titled The Continental. As the name would suggest, the show will center around the New York City hotel, but in the 1970s, and will follow the story of how a young Winston Scott came to be the owner of the assassin haven. Colin Woodell stars as the young Winston Scott with Ayomide Adegun as a young Charon, Mel Gibson as Cormac, Peter Greene as Uncle Charlie, Jessica Allain as Lou, Ben Robson as Frankie, Hubert Point Du Jour as Miles, Nhung Kate as Yen, and Mishel Prada as KD. 

2022 was an incredibly busy year for de Armas who appeared in Adrian Lyne’s erotic psychological thriller Deep Water opposite her real-life ex-boyfriend Ben Affleck, the aforementioned Anthony and Joe Russo action flick The Gray Man, and as one of the most legendary stars of all-time in Blonde, Andrew Dominik’s biographical feature that centered on the life of Marilyn Monroe. In 2023, she’ll team back up with her The Gray Man co-star Chris Evans for Dexter Fletcher’s romantic action feature Ghosted. As of right now, the Ana de Armas-led John Wick spinoff Ballerina hasn’t received a release window, but filming is underway.