Dexerto caught up with Winston star Ian McShane ahead of the release of Ballerina, where he spoke about John Wick 5 – and there’s one thing the upcoming action sequel depends on.
Set between the events of John Wick 3 and 4, Ballerina introduces us to a new protagonist – Eve Macarro (Anna de Armas) – a ballerina-assassin of the Ruska Roma family who seeks revenge for her father’s death.
Yes, Keanu Reeves reprises his role as the Baba Yaga, although he’s not the main star of this story. Lance Reddick’s Charon also makes a bittersweet appearance in scenes filmed before his death in 2023.
Of course, there’s no Charon without Winston and vice versa. With Ballerina just around the corner, we took the opportunity to ask Winston’s McShane about the now-confirmed John Wick 5.
Ian McShane talks John Wick 5
McShane was understandably elusive about the upcoming movie, not least because it’s still in early development. However, he confirmed one thing: it all depends on Keanu Reeves. He is the one and only Boogeyman, after all.
“I don’t know anything about it,” he said with a smile. “I mean, that’s it, they announced it and then they’ll make it. It depends on Keanu. If he’s fit and willing, I’m sure they’ll work out a number fine.”
The Winston star went on to point out, “Nobody really believes he died” in John Wick 4. Even before the fifth entry was announced, we never saw Wick’s death on screen, and in action movie world, that means he’s still alive.
McShane also elaborated on a backstory he and Reddick made up for Winston and Charon, which could even make it into the next flick.
“Usually I’d be with him [Reddick], you know, which was nice, because we invented this backstory between us that they met in Africa in the ‘70s when I was working for MI6 and he was local government,” he told us.
“They kept in touch… and when they got too old, they got kicked out, and then they formed this partnership in private and formed this relationship… who knows who backed them. That’s the great thing, maybe that’s in John Wick 5, you never know.”
As for Ballerina, McShane is excited to see a female-fronted story told in the John Wick Universe.
“It’s lovely to have a woman in the film who actually fits in, because it’s not just a whim either… She appeared with Anjelica Huston’s Director at the ballet school. This is the backstory because this takes place between John Wick 3 and 4.
“So you get the history of her, and Winston gets to rescue her at the beginning of the movie, put her in the ballet school, and then you cut to 20 years later when she wants revenge; when she wants to know what happened to her dad, her family, and her mother.”
When asked if Winston sees in Eve what he sees in John, McShane replied, “Absolutely. They come from the same Ruska Roma family, they were bred into this, and he wants to help however he can without stepping outside the boundaries of the High Table.”
Ballerina is in cinemas from June 6, 2025. Until then, read everything we know about John Wick 5, the John Wick anime, and the spinoff series Under the High Table.
