Promising Young Woman Director Emerald Fennell Helped Co-Write Ana De Armas' John Wick Spin-Off
Anyone who was concerned that the woman-led "John Wick" spin-off "Ballerina" was being written by men can take a sigh of relief, well, that is depending on how you felt about 2020's "Promising Young Woman." Emerald Fennell appears to be staying booked and busy, as it was announced that she was hired by Ana de Armas ("Knives Out," "No Time To Die," "Dark Water") to assist on the script for "Ballerina." Fennell joins the film's screenwriters Shay Hatten ("John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum," "Army of the Dead," "Army of Thieves") and Len Wiseman (the "Underworld" series, "Live Free or Die Hard," "Total Recall"), who is also directing the film, to offer punch-ups on the script. It has not yet been confirmed whether or not Fennell will receive a writing credit for her contributions, as the decision will ultimately be determined by the Writers Guild of America.
The news was broken by de Armas, who spoke of the collaboration in an interview with Elle magazine. "It was really important for me to hire a female writer, because to that point when I got involved in the project, it was only the director, Len Wiseman, and another guy," de Armas said. "And I was like, 'That's not going to work.'" Ana de Armas said she interviewed five or six female writers before hiring Emerald Fennell, a decision that she told the magazine made her feel very proud. Fennell won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for "Promising Young Woman" and also served as the showrunner for season 2 of "Killing Eve."
Action sounds on pointe
It was established in "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum" that The Director (Anjelica Huston) ran an academy in New York City. A character known only as "The Ballerina" was briefly shown, played by New York City Ballet principal dancer and actress Unity Phelan ("I'm Thinking of Ending Things"). It's not been confirmed whether or not de Armas will be playing this specific ballerina, or one of the many women trained to be elite and elegant assassins at The Director's academy. Not much has been made public regarding the film's plot, but we do know that we will see the young assassin track down those who killed her family in a revenge plot.
Huston has also not yet been confirmed as joining the cast, but it's hard to imagine telling this type of story without her. Not only would it fit perfectly within the "John Wick" universe, but it would offer some full circle meta brilliance for Anjelica Huston. Everyone knows that Huston's father is famed actor John Huston, but many forget that her mother is model and former prima ballerina, Enrica Soma.
Regardless, "Ballerina" has everything going for it on paper, and will hopefully solidify Ana de Armas as the next great femme fatale.