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Ballerina marked the first real expansion of the John Wick universe. The movie, which is set between Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, follows Eve Macarro (played by Ana de Armas), as she hunts down those behind her father’s death. Her path leads her deep into the Ruska Roma, the same ruthless group that once shaped John Wick into the killer the underworld fears. The film doesn’t hold back on violence with sharp and stylish action that matches the elegance of its title.
Eve Macarro Replaces an Entirely Different Lead
However, here’s what most people don’t know. According to Collider, Ballerina didn’t begin its life as a John Wick story. Shay Hatten wrote the original script in 2017 and it was something entirely different. The main character was called Rooney Brown, not Eve who was meant to tear through a secret assassin society in Switzerland. One of the most outrageous scenes had her storming a retirement home full of deadly seniors, with one even swinging a pair of nunchucks.
How Ballerina Was Reshaped Into a Wick Spin-Off
Director Len Wiseman later joined Hatten in reshaping the script to match the John Wick world and what started as a satire of over-the-top action movies soon evolved into something grounded in the same gritty universe Wick fans know. The kill counter idea, which would’ve shown over 1,400 deaths, was dropped and so were the more absurd touches, like the assassin grandpas. Instead, the focus turned toward exploring the tribal structure of the Ruska Roma, giving depth to a group that had only been glimpsed before.
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