Ballerina Director Reveals What Really Happened With Those Reshoots On The John Wick Spin-Off [Exclusive]

The "John Wick" universe is getting ready to expand as the long-awaited spin-off "Ballerina," aka "From the World of John Wick: Ballerina," is hitting theaters this weekend. It stars Ana de Armas ("No Time to Die," "Knives Out") as Eve Macarro, a ballerina-turned-assassin out to avenge her father's death. The spin-off has been in the works for a long time. A big part of that has to do with extensive reshoots, which pushed the film back a full year. So, what's the story with these reshoots, exactly? Director Len Wiseman has cleared the air.

"There weren't reshoots," Wiseman clarified in a recent interview with /Film's Ben Pearson ahead of the release of "Ballerina." The "Underworld" director further explained that these were "additional shoots that we went out to Budapest [for]."

In 2024, it was reported that "John Wick" franchise director Chad Stahelski took the helm for the "Ballerina" reshoots. Reshoots are often seen as a bad thing, signaling potential issues with a production. Wiseman clarified that wasn't the case here, as the additional scenes were filmed because Lionsgate had confidence in "Ballerina," not because they had doubts about it. As he explained:

"The studio saw the film, loved the film, and we had cut out some of the action sequences from the original script just because we couldn't fit them in the schedule. So once they saw the movie and really believed in it, they were like, 'Why don't we take a look at bringing those sequences back in?' So a large part of what we shot was what was in the script originally."

The rumor mill has swirled regarding this movie for months, especially as it relates to Stahelski's level of involvement.

Speaking more on the topic, Wiseman addressed those rumors more directly, saying that Stahelski took over directing those additional scenes because he was sick at the time and had to be in the hospital. He elucidated:

"The rumors are rumors. I've known Chad for a long time, and I ended up, I got sick. I had a health scare, so I had to take off for a couple of weeks and go to the hospital, and so he covered the scenes that we were working on, and kind of thank God that he was there with the team for that. And then after my stay in the hospital, I jumped back in, but that's actually what the personal story is."

Even if the truth of the situation were something more salacious or worthy of Hollywood gossip, it's not as though Wiseman would come out and say anything to that effect during the press tour for "Ballerina." Whatever the case, reshoots are often a good thing, as they've saved movies like "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and "World War Z," turning would-be disasters into big hits. Wiseman seems to have no hard feelings about any of it and, if anything, is thankful Stahelski stepped in.

Regardless of how we got here, Lionsgate has an awful lot riding on this movie. The budget is said to be around $90 million, making it more expensive than every "John Wick" movie save for "Chapter 4." The studio also has several other spin-offs in the works in addition to "John Wick: Chapter 5." If this movie doesn't work, it could limit what Lionsgate can do with the franchise from here on out.

While Keanu Reeves is lending his presence to this spin-off as Mr. Wick, that won't always be the case. If they want this universe to exist with Reeves in it, this movie can do a lot of work to make that happen. Clearly, the studio was willing to devote the resources necessary to help ensure it would be a successful venture.

"From the World of John Wick: Ballerina" hits theaters on June 6, 2025, and you can read the full interview with Wiseman later this week on /Film.