- John Wick spin-off Ballerina gets a new behind-the-scenes featurette
- Ana de Armas to star as deadly ballerina assassin Eve Macarro
- Keanu Reeves to return as John Wick
Ballerina, a new John Wick spin-off movie, is heading our way, with Ana de Armas in the lead role.
The No Time To Die star will play a ballerina-turned-assassin from Russia. Her world was briefly glimpsed in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Here, Keanu Reeves’ titular hero was forced to see the head of a Russian crime syndicate known as The Director. This role was played by Anjelica Huston.
Directed by Len Wiseman and produced by John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski, Ballerina will be the series’s first big-screen spin-off.
Read more: John Wick anime movie will be a prequel
In 2023, audiences got The Continental, a limited series telling the history of the assassin-friendly hotel at the heart of John Wick’s violent underworld. However, Ballerina will bring things relatively up-to-date, telling a new story set between the events of John Wick 3 and John Wick 4.
What else do we know? Read on to learn everything we know so far about Ballerina…
When is the John Wick spin-off Ballerina released?
Ballerina will be released in American cinemas on 6 June 2025. It will hit cinemas in the United Kingdom on the same date.
The spin-off was officially green-lit in April 2022, with Armas signed on to star in the leading role. Live Free or Die Hard filmmaker Wiseman was installed as the film’s director, with original John Wick co-creator Stahelski confirmed to be working with Wiseman on the movie’s action sequences.
Read more: John Wick at 10: How two stunt men revived Keanu Reeves’ career
Since Stahelski’s first John Wick, the franchise has become known for its innovative approach to on-screen action. The series frequently uses a method known as ‘Gun-Fu’ which combines weapons with hand-to-hand combat.
In 2022, it was revealed that Saltburn director Emerald Fennell had been added as one of the movie’s scriptwriters. She joined John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum scribe Shay Hatten.
Is there a trailer for Ballerina?
Yes, the first trailer for Ballerina dropped in September 2024, inviting us back into the criminal underworld at the heart of the John Wick franchise. Watch it above.
The film also introduced us to the movie’s titular assassin while setting the scene for her upcoming revenge adventure.
It also re-introduced us to some familiar faces, including The Continental owner Winston, played by Ian McShane, and a brief appearance from Reeves’ John Wick.
A featurette for the movie made its way online in early December and took us behind the scenes of its extreme action sequences.
“One of the most fascinating things in the franchise to me is the world creation,” explains Stahelski on what to expect story-wise. “Ballerina gave us a chance to explore that world.”
Wiseman adds: “This is not a female John Wick, this is a story of Eve coming into it from the beginning.”
What is the plot for this John Wick spin-off?
Ballerina is set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4. This was confirmed during the movie’s first trailer in which we see snippets of Wick in Russia during John Wick Chapter 3.
According to the movie’s official log-line, Armas will play Eve Macarro, a ballerina who is “beginning her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma.”
While little else is known about the movie’s storyline, we do know that Eve will use her deadly training to avenge the death of her murdered father.
Who’s starring?
Armas will lead the way as the movie’s titular heroine, a deadly ballerina known as Eve Macarro.
She’ll be joined by McShane’s Winston, Huston as her trainer The Director and the late Lance Reddick as Charon. Charon played a key role as the concierge of The Continental in the wider John Wick universe. Ballerina will mark Charon’s final on-screen appearance after Reddick sadly passed away in 2023.
These familiar faces will be joined by Gabriel Byrne as the movie’s big-bad – a character known as The Chancellor. The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus will play a mysterious new character known as Daniel Pine.
Sharon Duncan-Brewster and David Castañeda are also set to appear.
Is Keanu Reeves in Ballerina?
Yes, Reeves will reprise his role as John Wick for the Ballerina spin-off movie. We got our first glimpse of him in the movie’s official trailer.
Due to the placement of Wiseman’s movie, it looks like we’ll catch Wick while he’s still a global enemy of the sinister assassin organisation known as the High Table.
Those who have seen the full John Wick franchise will know why it would be difficult for the character to appear in any other way. It remains unclear as to how prominently Wick will feature in Eve’s story.
