If you’re a fan of Ana de Armas shooting off big guns, this is a happy time for you. Not only did she steal the show as rookie agent Paloma in No Time to Die, but the actress can be seen this week popping off shots in Netflix’s The Gray Man. And pretty soon she’ll playa hired killer out for revenge in John Wick spinoff, Ballerina. While that already sounds like a blast, there’s more reason to be excited for it, as the film had some Oscar-winning help.
Speaking with Elle, de Armas revealed that she recruited Promising Young Woman writer Emerald Fennell to give the script a boost. Considering the female-led flick was being written by two men, director and Underworld filmmaker Len Wiseman and Army of the Dead writer Shay Hatten, a woman’s touch was needed…
“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 [Shay Hatten]. And I was like, ‘That’s not going to work.,’” de Armas said.
She continued, “So I interviewed, like, five or six female writers. We hired Emerald Fennell, which I was so proud of.”
The decision to hire Fennell is an inspired one. Fennell won an Oscar for her Promising Young Woman screenplay, while she was also a showrunner on Killing Eve. In short, she knows a thing or two about women driven to action.
It’s expected that Keanu Reeves’ John Wick will make an appearance, making this the first reunion of Reeves and de Armas since Knock Knock way back in 2015. Ballerina will be a true test of the John Wick franchise’s strength. If this is a hit, expect more to follow.
