Skip to main content

Everything you need to know about the John Wick spinoff Ballerina

In 2014, Keanu Reeves starred as a retired hit man thrust back into the criminal underworld in John Wick. The film exceeded box office and critical expectations, with many fans and pundits praising Reeves’ performance and the elaborate action sequences. John Wick spawned three sequels, with the latest entry – John Wick: Chapter 4 – premiering in March 2023.

The billion-dollar franchise is now expanding with spinoffs, which began with The ContinentalPeacock’s limited series about a young Winston Scott’s rise to power in New York City. The next project will be Ballerina, the first spinoff feature film in the franchise. Here is everything you need to know about Ballerina, including the release date, cast, synopsis, and trailer.

Ballerina release date

John Wick hands a cross to a woman in John Wick Chapter 3.
Lionsgate

Ballerina has been delayed. Originally scheduled for June 7, 2024, Ballerina now moves to June 6, 2025. Deadline reported that John Wick director Chad Stahelski, who recently signed a new deal with Lionsgate, is helping Ballerina director Len Wiseman develop additional action sequences.

Ballerina cast

Ana de Armas in "No Time To Die."
MGM / MGM

Ana de Armas stars as Rooney, the titular Ballerina. The ballerina briefly appeared in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Rooney, played by Unity Phelan, was onstage at the ballet academy when John visited The Director, the leader of the Ruska Roma crime syndicate. Anjelica Huston, who starred as The Director in Chapter 3, reprises her for Ballerina.

Other actors from previous John Wick films who are scheduled to appear in Ballerina include Reeves as John Wick, Ian McShane as Winston Scott, and the late Lance Reddick as Charon. Catalina Sandino Moreno, Norman Reedus, and Gabriel Byrne have been cast in undisclosed roles.

What is Ballerina about?

An unnamed Ballerina from John Wick Chapter 3.
Lionsgate

Ballerina will center around Rooney’s quest for revenge as she hunts down the people who murdered her family. De Armas stars as Rooney, a ballerina training to become a highly skilled assassin in the Ruska Roma. The Russian crime syndicate was introduced in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

After being declared “excommunicado,” John meets with The Director, the head of the Ruska Roma, at her performing arts institute to discuss safe passage to Casablanca. The ballet institute trains men and women to be assassins, and John previously trained there as “Jardani Jovonovich.”

At Comic-Con Experience 2022, Reeves touched on the plot points in Ballerina. “[She is a] woman who has some very difficult circumstances and who’s looking for revenge,” Reeves said via Collider. “Whoever killed her … someone killed her father. Who could that be? And so it’s her journey for actually understanding her past. She lost her father at a young age, and she doesn’t really know what happened. Only that someone came into the house and killed her father, who had a tattoo. And as we know in John Wick, if you have a tattoo, something’s going on.”

When does Ballerina take place?

John Wick loads his gun in John Wick: Chapter 4.
Lionsgate

In the John Wick universe, Ballerina is set between the events of Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. More specifically, Ballerina takes place about six months after the events in the third film.

Who is directing and writing Ballerina?

The Marquis and Caine sitting at a table in "John Wick: Chapter 4."
Lionsgate

Ballerina is directed by Wiseman, who helms his first feature film since 2012’s Total Recall. Ballerina’s screenplay was written by Shay Hatten, who co-wrote John Wick: Chapter 4 and Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire. Hatten wrote a spec script in 2017 that would serve as the basis for Ballerina. Emerald Fennell, who wrote and directed Saltburn, was brought in to help rewrite parts of the script. Ballerinaproducers include Stahelski, Basil Iwanyk, and Erica Lee.

In an interview with Digital Trends, Hatten teased what to expect in Ballerina. “Well, what I think is cool is that this centers on a character that came up through the same ballet theater under the tutelage of Anjelica Huston that we see John take a stop at in the third movie,” Hatten said. “So you realize, ‘Oh, this character might be someone who shares some similar origin elements with John.’ In a cool way, it hints at the backstory for John, but we’re telling it through the lens of a different character.”

What is Keanu Reeves’s involvement in Ballerina?

Keanu Reeves returns in the first footage from #JohnWick Presents: Ballerina that was shown off at #CinemaCon.The trailer ends with Keanu Reeves as John Wick offering advice for how to be an assassin to Ana de Armas' character pic.twitter.com/zuoN2yOUOk

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) April 10, 2024

Reeves has become synonymous with the John Wick franchise. The four films have revitalized his standing as one of the best action heroes in Hollywood. Reeves’ assassin will briefly appear in Ballerina. It is not a cameo role, however. While speaking with EW, Reeves teased his “small” involvement in Ballerina.

“Yeah, I got to work with Ana de Armas, and the director Len Wiseman, and they had a great script, and John Wick has a small part to play in it,” Reeves said. “Len Wiseman was cool. He was like, ‘Where do you want to pitch this story in [the] timeline?’ So, it takes place between Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 of the John Wick stories. It was fun to put the suit back on.”

At CinemaCon 2024, Reeves’s Wick appeared at the end of the trailer shown to the audience. According to reports, de Armas’ character asks how to become a professional killer, to which Wick replies, “Looks like you already have.”

Ballerina marks Lance Reddick’s final role

Lance Reddick stands in front of a car.
Lionsgate

Ballerina marks the final on-screen role for Reddick, who died from heart disease on March 17, 2023. Reddick’s death came one week before the release of John Wick: Chapter 4 in the U.S. In the John Wick franchise, Redick played Charon, the Continental Hotel’s concierge and Winston’s right-hand man. Reddick completed his scenes for Ballerina before his death.

Is there a trailer for Ballerina?

Lionsgate unveiled a new trailer at CinemaCon for John Wick spinoff #Ballerina starring Ana de Armas.

In it, de Armas’ assassin makes short work of several assailants, torching a truck with a flamethrower, leaping from moving vehicles and engaging in brutal hand-to-hand combat… pic.twitter.com/jRJayNJhoy

— Variety (@Variety) April 10, 2024

Unfortunately, no trailer has been released to the public. However, the studio revealed the first footage of Ballerina to the audience at CinemaCon 2024. According to Variety, the trailer was heavy on fight sequences and hand-to-hand combat. The footage was compared to de Armas’ noteworthy appeareance in No Time to Die, where she fought alongside Daniel Craig’s James Bond.

Can you stream Ballerina?

John Wick stands behind a car in John Wick: Chapter 4.
Lionsgate

Upon its theatrical release, Ballerina is not expected to be available for purchase on demand or through a streaming service. Thanks to Lionsgate’s deal with NBCUniversalBallerina will stream to Peacock and NBCUniversal networks after its theatrical run.

Will there be a sequel to Ballerina?

Two men stand next to each other in John Wick: chapter 2.
Niko Tavernise / Lionsgate

A sequel has not been greenlit for Ballerina. However, producer Erica Lee recently told Collider she’s “hopeful” there will be a Ballerina 2. Tentative plans are in development for de Armas to return for a sequel.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Dan Girolamo
Dan is a passionate and multitalented content creator with experience in pop culture, entertainment, and sports. Throughout…
Everything you need to know about National Treasure 3
Nicolas Cage holds the Declaration of Independence.

You couldn't think of a more perfect actor to steal the Declaration of Independence in National Treasure than Nicolas Cage. In 2004, Cage played Benjamin Gates, an adventurer who stole one of the nation's most prized documents to examine a secret treasure map on the back of it. The Indiana Jones-inspired National Treasure was the perfect balance of history and adventure. The success of the first film led to a sequel in 2007, National Treasure: Book of Secrets.

In the years since Book of Secrets, there have been numerous rumors about National Treasure 3. Both films combined to gross over $800 million, so a third installment makes sense. However, despite the high demand, National Treasure 3 can't quite get off the ground. What is the status of the third film? Here is everything you need to know about National Treasure 3.
Is National Treasure 3 in development?

Read more
3 action movies on Netflix you need to watch in February
Chris Hemsworth holds a gun outside of a prison cell in Extraction 2.

Netflix continues to bolster its library with new movies and TV shows every month. The streaming service has seen an increase in action movies in February, with American Assassin, Fury, Pacific Rim, Resident Evil, and Shot Caller all available to stream. Some of these films could find themselves on the top 10 charts of most popular films on the service.

If you are looking for more films to watch this month, we selected three action films to place in your Netflix queue. One of our picks is Extraction 2, the Chris Hemsworth-led sequel to one of Netflix's best original films. The other selections include a sequel to a famous assassin movie and an excellent zombie horror movie from Asia.
Extraction 2 (2023)

Read more
Everything you need to know about Dune: Part Two
Paul walks in a desert in Dune: Part Two.

Frank Herbert's 1965 novel Dune is considered one of the most important and influential sci-fi works of all time. If you love Star Wars, there is no galaxy far, far away without Dune. However, the 1984 feature film adaptation by David Lynch (Mulholland Drive) flopped critically and commercially, tainting the public perception of Dune in the media. Despite multiple television series in the early 2000s, it was not until 2021's Dune that the novel received a proper and worthy adaptation.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve (Arrival), Dune stars Timothée Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name) as Paul Atreides, the heir to House Atreides on the planet Caladan. His father, Duke Leto Atreides (Moon Knight's Oscar Isaac), is assigned to serve as the fiefholder of Arrakis, a mysterious desert planet home to the most valuable resource in the galaxy: spice. It is Duke Leto's dream to bring peace to Arrakis and form an alliance with the native Fremen, but House Harkonnen, the rival of House Atreides, conspires with the Emperor to retake the planet and destroy House Atreides. After a coup by the Harkonnens, it's up to Paul to carry out his father's vision and become the savior to unite the people of Arrakis.

Read more