The world of John Wick is a sprawling one. Although the main franchise of movies focuses on a narrow slice of one assassin’s life, there’s a lot in the universe to explore. And now, John Wick will get its first cinematic spinoff with the Ballerina movie. We still have a lot of questions about how the movie will connect into the main John Wick universe and what exact story it will tell. But we do know, we can’t wait to immerse ourselves back into this deadly web of underground criminals and assains. This time Ana de Armas will serve as our guide.
Here’s everything we know about the John Wick spinoff movie, Ballerina.
Title
The title of this John Wick movie is Ballerina, alluding to the main character’s training as both dancer and assassin in the Ruska Roma.
Ballerina‘s Plot
Plot details for Ballerina are still sparse. A logline for the movie simply shares:
The world of John Wick expands with BALLERINA, as Ana de Armas stars as an assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma.
That description tells us more about the character than the movie, but we do know a few more bits and pieces. According to Deadline, “Ballerina focuses on a young female assassin who seeks revenge against the people who killed her family.” But whether one of those people is John Wick himself, we still don’t know. Potentially, the family Armas’ character wants to avenge is actually her family from the Ruska Roma, who were left hurting in John Wick: Parabellum.
Keanu Reeves, who will appear in the film as John Wick, gave us a better idea of when Ballerina takes place on the John Wick timeline. He noted that the movie fits in between John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4. So, although the movie will release after Chapter 4, it will take us back in time. And we’re grateful for it because we can’t wait to see Reeves in action as our favorite assassin.
Ballerina‘s Cast
Ana de Armas will star in Ballerina. Joining her are quite a number of members of the John Wick family as well as some new faces. First, as mentioned, John Wick himself, Keanu Reeves, will return in Ballerina. We don’t know yet how big of a role he’ll have in the movie. In addition, Ian McShane is set to reprise his John Wick role as Winston, the manager of The Continental Hotel, in Ballerina. Anjelica Huston will also return as The Director in the John Wick movie as well. Her presence, of course, makes a lot of sense considering the heavy presence of the Ruska Roma in the little information we’ve received so far. The late Lance Reddick will also return as Charon, one of the concierges at the Continental Hotel, in the movie. Sadly, the actor recently passed away, but it seems he had already filmed his appearance.
Joining the John Wick franchise, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Gabriel Byrne will star opposite of de Armas. In addition, The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus has joined the cast of Ballerina. Finally, Deadline reports that two actors joined the movie during reshoots, Umbrella Academy‘s David Castañeda and Sharon Duncan-Brewster.
Behind the Scenes
Behind the camera, Len Wiseman will direct Ballerina. Shay Hatten, meanwhile, penned the script. Reports indicate that Emerald Fennell also assisted in its writing. John Wick director Chad Stahelski will serve as a producer on the movie alongside Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee.
Ballerina‘s Release Date
Ballerina was set to release on June 7, 2024, but reportedly its release date has moved to June 6, 2025.
Originally published on April 20, 2023.