Gabriel Byrne has joined Lionsgate’s Ballerina, a spinoff movie set in the John Wick universe starring Keanu Reeves as the title character.
“For decades, Gabriel’s mysterious and enigmatic presence has enriched dozens of films. You can never quite be sure what he’s thinking, and that’s perfect for this world,” producer Brady Iwanyk said in a statement.
Byrne will next be seen as legendary writer Samuel Beckett in the biopic Dance First for director James Marsh. He also stars as Enzo Ferrari in Grindstone’s Lamborghini: The Man Behind the Legend, and appeared in Epix’s series War of the Worlds and the feature Murder at Yellowstone City.
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Byrne’s other credits include Hereditary, directed by Ari Aster, and the limited series ZeroZeroZero, directed by Janus Metz, Stefano Sollima and Pablo Trapero for Amazon Studios.
Byrne is the latest to join Ballerina, with production already underway on the feature that is being toplined by Ana de Armas and directed by Len Wiseman. The ensemble cast includes Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston, Lance Reddick, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Norman Reedus.
Shay Hatten wrote the script for Ballerina, and the plot involves a young woman (de Armas) with killer skills who uses said skills to get revenge when her family is killed by hitmen. The producer credits are shared by Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Chad Stahelski.
Brady Fujikawa and Chelsea Kujawa are overseeing the project for Lionsgate. Byrne is represented by The Agency and Paradigm.
