Although Lance Reddick died at the age of 60 in March 2023, the world has gotten to spend some time with him, in a sense, thanks to various posthumous movie and TV releases. Sadly, the last of those appearances is fast approaching, with the John Wick spinoff Ballerina slated to hit theaters next summer. Ahead of Ballerina’s arrival onto the 2025 movies schedule, Ian McShane, who starred with Reddick in the spinoff and the prior four John Wick movies, reflected on working with his late co-star.
McShane addressed the Charon to his Winston Scott when he attended a 10th anniversary John Wick screening at AMC Century City in Los Angeles (via DiscussingFilm). Recalling fond memories he’s had of working on the John Wick franchise, the actor said:
My relationship with Chad and Keanu, you know… I think the moment with me and Lance, because he’s no longer with us. Sorry, Lance Reddick, the great Lance Reddick… Another one I will miss dreadfully. But we have Ballerina coming out, in which we, for the last time, we have that together. But yeah, I thought we made a really good double act as we say, in a sense, you know? It was great, his relationship – because you never knew! His relationship is different to mine with Keanu’s character. But yeah, my moments with him I think I’ll remember.
Up until John Wick: Chapter 4, Winston was the manager of The Continental’s New York branch, and Charon served as its concierge. Although Lance Reddick and Ian McShane didn’t share any screen time in the first two John Wick movies, they were paired together for the following two movies. Sadly, Charon was gunned down early into Chapter 4, which came out a week after Reddick died, as one of Winston’s several punishments for failing to kill Keanu Reeves’ John Wick.
Not only were Winston and Charon close (with the origin of their friendship being shown in The Continental miniseries, which can be streamed with a Peacock subscription), Ian McShane clearly forged a great bond with Lance Reddick during their time together. A month after Reddick’s passing, McShane called his co-star a “marvelously composed, serious actor” who “brought dignity and strength and gravitas.” This double act of theirs also included when they did John Wick interviews, with McShane saying that he and Reddick “complimented each other very well.”
Thankfully, because Ballerina takes place between the third and fourth John Wick movies, we have one last opportunity to see Lance Reddick play Charon. The spinoff stars Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, who was trained to be an assassin by the Ruska Roma and will use her lethal skills to exact revenge on the people who killed her father. According to McShane, Eve will be under Winston and Charon’s protection at the Continental during the movie. Keanu Reeves and Anjelica Huston will also reprise their respective roles in the Ballerina cast, and the lineup of other newcomers includes Gabriel Byrne, Catalonia Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, Sharon Duncan-Brewster and David Castañeda.
Ballerina opens in theaters on June 6, 2025. Keep visiting CinemaBlend for more news on Ballerina and the entire John Wick franchise, which now also includes an anime prequel movie on the development slate.
