- BallerinaThe director has revealed which fighting sequence was the hardest to film
- It was not the flame thrower or club -based actions
- The duel between Eve and John Wick was also an “incredible day on set”
From John Wick’s World: BallerinaThe director has revealed which fighting sequence was the most challenging to film.
Talking with Techradar in front of Ballerina‘June 6th release admitted to Len Wiseman that “one of the hardest moments” of the whole shoot is one that the audience doesn’t expect it to be either.
Full spoilers immediately follow For the Ana de Armas-led action thriller. Don’t continue unless you’ve seen it.
Okay, which set piece caused the most headache? It has nothing to do with the third act’s deadly flamethrower-based sequence. ACT 1’s Nightclub Brawl, a classic staple in the John Wick movie series, was not as taxation as the scene that Wiseman has in mind.
According to the filmmaker behind one of June 2025’s new films, it was the most difficult moment to catch part of the alpine restaurant duel between the Armas’ Eve Macarro and a member of the culture led by Gabriel Byrne’s Chancellor. The reason it was so challenging? The records that Eva and her colleague struggled attack each other with under a smirk-inducing order kept breaking when they shouldn’t.
“The restaurant match is a favorite of mine because there were a lot of important history beats that landed and it was incredibly fun to shoot,” Wiseman told me.
“But the plate sequence was one of the hardest moments to film. They are outbreak plates so they have a job [to break upon impact without hurting the actors]And they are doing great.
“The problem is that when you pick them up, they immediately crushed. Then they [the actors] had to delicate each one and then bring them down on their opponent with real force. The amount of times they grabbed a plate and they would crush … I lost the number of how many times we had to glue them back together. I remember the props department asked me if 100 records would be enough and I said ‘yes’. We reviewed all 100 plates several times so you can imagine what state they were in when we were done! “
Understandably, every action sequence came in the fourth John Wick movie (chronologically, anyway -read my John Wick movies in order for more details) with its own set of challenges. It included one-on-one between Eve and Keanu Reeves’ iconic Hitman taking place in Ballerina‘s last act.
“It was an incredible day on the set,” Wiseman said of shooting the confrontation between Eve and the franchise’s titular assassin.
“It’s a moment in the movie that is really fun and tense, but we were well aware that we had to make sure there was a balance in the match. John Wick is the so -called Baba Yaga, and while he is more experienced and skilled than Eve, we didn’t want her to feel her in her own film. It is a fight that matters.”
Ballerina is out now in theaters all over the world. If you’ve seen it you have to see if you agree with my thoughts on the latest wick -flick by reading my Ballerina Examination. Alternatively, you can check out more exclusive content from my chats with Wiseman, plus actors Ian McShane and Norman Reedus below.
