It’s been confirmed that there will be some crossover characters in Ballerina, the first John Wick spinoff. Starring Ana de Armas in the lead, Ballerina will carry over the same levels of thrilling action seen in the other films, but with a new assassin fueled by her own motivations. To help connect the spinoff to its parent movie series will be an appearance from Ian McShane as it’s been officially announced that he will reprise his role as Winston in Ballerina.

“We’re thrilled to have Ian McShane joining us for a pivotal role in Ballerina,” producer Basil Iwanyk said in a statement, per Collider. “He’s been such an integral part of the franchise since the original John Wick. It’s been fun to have him on this journey as the Wick universe expands.”

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

Chances are, McShane won’t be the only crossover character to appear. Collider also reports that Keanu Reeves is on location in Prague, and that’s a good indication that he will appear as John Wick in Ballerina. However, as of now, this report hasn’t been officially confirmed by producers. Still, it’s looking like McShane is not going to be alone when he returns as Winston in Ballerina, and perhaps we’ll soon learn of other familiar faces that will be popping up as well.

McShane has been a key fixture of the John Wick franchise since appearing in the original film. He’d go on to join Reeves for both sequels along with the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4, which hits theaters in March. McShane also recently did voiceover work for the Netflix movie My Father’s Dragon as well as an episode of The Simpsons and wrapped up his role as Mr. Wednesday on American Gods last year.

Ana de Armas Will Play a Deadly Assassin

     Ana de Armas/Instagram

Ana de Armas recently shared a first look at her character in Ballerina with an image from the set you can see above. Ballerina is directed by Len Wiseman and written by Shay Hatten, though Ana de Armas says she brought on Emerald Fennell to help with the script. Basil Iwanyk is producing with Erica Lee and Chad Stahelski.

Meanwhile, production is also moving forward on another John Wick spinoff that will be in the form of a series at Peacock. A prequel, the series goes decades into the past by following a younger version of Winston, Ian McShane’s character. The series, dubbed The Continental, stars Colin Woodell as WInston while Mel Gibson co-stars in a main role.

Ballerina doesn’t yet have a premiere date, but John Wick: Chapter 4 is scheduled to be released in movie theaters on March 24, 2023.