Ballerina: Chad Stahelski had to reshoot most of John Wick spinoff. Will the risk pay off?

By Dan Girolamo Published October 15, 2024

The John Wick universe will expand in 2025 with . Directed by Len Wiseman, Ballerina stars Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, the titular ballerina who trains to be an assassin with the Ruska Roma criminal syndicate.

The film was originally scheduled to be released in June, but Lionsgate delayed the film a full year to 2025. The studio ordered reshoots and hired John Wick director Chad Stahelski to work on new action sequences with Wiseman. Reshoots are fairly normal for blockbusters. What started as reshooting a few scenes, however, has turned Ballerina into an entirely different movie.

According to a new report from The Wrap, Stahelski had to reshoot most of the movie after the studio did not like Wiseman’s first cut. Stahelski reshot a “significant portion” of Ballerina in Budapest without Wiseman present. The reshoots reportedly took two to three months. The reshoots delayed the start of Highlander, Stahelski’s next film project. Henry Cavill, who will headline Highlander, likely signed on to star in Voltron because of the delay.

“Of course, Chad had to clean up someone else’s mess. Remember, this film is basically John Wick 3.5,’” The Wrap’s insider said. “This story happens before John Wick 4, and after that film, they can’t have a failure in anything Wick-related.”

Will the gamble to delay and reshoot Ballerina pay off? According to Big Screen Leaks, Stahelski’s version of Ballerina tested last week, and scores “skyrocketed significantly” compared to Wiseman’s cut.

BALLERINA tested again last week, with Stahelski’s fingerprints and reshoots all over it. Compared to the original cut, scores skyrocketed significantly. Reshoots saved this movie big time. https://t.co/OPOs7rVvwA

— BSL (@bigscreenleaks) October 14, 2024

Ballerina takes place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum and before John Wick: Chapter 4. Reprising their roles for Ballerina are Anjelica Huston as the Director, Ian McShane as Winston Scott, Lance Reddick as Charon, and Keanu Reeves as John Wick. Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, David Castañeda, and Norman Reedus also star.

opens in theaters on June 6, 2025.