Ballerina director Len Wiseman explains why action is better when the hero takes a beating (2025)

It has come to light in recent years that some of our recent crop of action movie stars have it in their contracts that they can’t be shown losing in a fight, and/or their character can’t take more hits in a fight scene than they deliver… which has always struck me as deeply strange, because the action heroes in the old days were often shown taking a beating. And their movies were better for it! Part of what makes Die Hard great is because John McClane isn’t invulnerable; in fact, he’s a bloody, wounded mess by the end of the movie. Sylvester Stallone was never afraid to have his characters get hurt. Riggs barely survived some of the Lethal Weapon movies. The list goes on, but the fact that the heroes of yesteryear took a beating made their movies more effective. And one filmmaker who agrees that heroes should not make it through action movies unscathed is Len Wiseman, whose new movie Ballerina (which has been marketed as From the World of John Wick: Ballerina) reaches theatres on June 6th. JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray recently had the chance to sit down for an interview with Wiseman, and in the clip above you can hear Wiseman explain why action movies are better when the hero takes a beating and the audience can feel that the stakes are high.

Back in 2017, Lionsgate bought an action thriller spec script called Ballerina, which was written by Shay Hatten and ranked on The Black List as one of the best unproduced screenplays of that year. The idea was to have Hatten rewrite the script to take place within the world of Lionsgate’sJohn Wickfranchise – and Hatten was also hired to co-writeJohn Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which included a set-up for theBallerinaconcept of ballerina assassins. Hatten did his rewrite, Len Wiseman was hired to direct the film, Ana de Armas was cast as the title character, and now,Ballerinais ready to make its way out into the world.

Taking place during the events ofJohn Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,Ballerinafollows Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) who is beginning her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma.As Eve’s story unfolds, she uses her marksmanship, cunning, and hand-to-hand combat skills to rip through a sect of the assassin order that destroyed an aspect of her life. There’s no holding back, and no amount of finely-fitted Kevlar will save you. lthough the spinoff will obviously be focused on Ana de Armas’ character, it will feature appearances from several characters from across theJohn Wickfranchise, includingIan McShaneas Winston, the owner of the Continental Hotel, the lateLance Reddickas Charon, the Continental’s concierge, andAnjelica Hustonas the Director, the head of the Ruska Roma. Catalina Sandino Moreno, Gabriel Bryne, Choi Soo-young, David Casteñeda, Robert Maaser, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, and Norman Reedus are also in the cast. And yes, John Wick himself (a.k.a. Keanu Reeves) will also be showing up in the film.