- calendar_today August 27, 2025
Ana de Armas Takes Revenge to New Heights in Ballerina
Exactly three weeks to go now until From the World of John Wick: Ballerina slams into theaters on June 6, 2025. The Ana de Armas-led spin-off film looks like it’s going to bring the same sort of high-caliber action we’ve come to expect from the blockbuster franchise, but through the eyes of a fresh new character. In the latest batch of promotion for its release, Lionsgate has shared one last trailer — and it’s still just as slick and brutal as you’d imagine.
Like Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Ballerina is set in the same timeline. The original John Wick movie landed in 2014, with Chapter 2 coming two years later. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, released in 2019, had Keanu Reeves’ assassin declared “excommunicado” by the High Table after he killed crime lord Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) in the courtyard of the Continental Hotel. Wick was then forced to flee across New York City in search of allies, eventually finding a temporary sanctuary at the Ruska Roma crime syndicate.
The film saw Reeves engage in both stylized close-quarters combat, some fairly impressive gun battles, and some highly balletic fight choreography. At the head of the Ruska Roma is the anonymous Director (played by Anjelica Huston). The organization is an all-female crime syndicate, and the Director has used the place both as a refuge and a training ground for young recruits. As we see in Parabellum, the Director’s disciples are more than just ballerinas; they are ballerina-assassins. In one scene from Parabellum, we see one of these young ballerina killers in rehearsal on the stage of the Ruska Roma, played by Unity Phelan.
That character is Eve Macarro, and now Phelan’s role will be taken over by Ana de Armas in her spin-off film. Several other familiar faces from the John Wick franchise are set to appear in Ballerina, including Huston and Ian McShane reprising their roles as the Director and Winston, respectively. Lance Reddick, who played the role of Charon, the Continental’s efficient concierge, will also be returning for his final role since his untimely death in March 2023.
De Armas, meanwhile, is joined in the cast by several other promising names, including Gabriel Byrne as the main villain, Chancellor, Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Eve’s mentor, Nogi, and Norman Reedus as Daniel Pine. Catalina Sandino Moreno and David Castañeda are also set to feature.
A Vengeance-Fueled Tale with the Familiar Wick Twist
The first trailer for Ballerina was revealed back in September 2024, and this one focused specifically on the origins of the character of Eve, as played by Ana de Armas. We learn that Eve was orphaned at a young age and quickly discovered a new family with the Ruska Roma, and that her only goal in life was to avenge the murder of her father. That first preview also gave us a small glimpse of John Wick himself, as the more extensive interactions between him and Eve were kept on the down-low for a later reveal.
The second trailer for Ballerina, meanwhile, was released a few months later in March 2025. This gave fans of the series a little bit more of the explosive Keanu Reeves action they were hoping for, with a two-shot of Wick and Eve in a dark, snowy environment. Not a lot was revealed about the plot, but this one did at least suggest that there would be a significant amount of time spent with both of the assassins together on-screen, as well as an appreciation for the harsh circumstances they both found themselves in.
The newest trailer for Ballerina, meanwhile, is a lot more cutthroat and violent than either of its predecessors. The first shot of the video is one of a very tense nature. In it, Eve is staring up from the ground as she is in the crosshairs of John Wick’s gun. This leads into a frantic collection of new and previously seen footage, assembled into a hectic montage of extremely stylized close-range combat, gun battles, and expertly choreographed violence. Some of the newer scenes seen here, in particular, really show off the full physical capabilities of Ana de Armas in a way that few other movies get a chance to capture.
As for her character, her one-track vengeance mission comes through loud and clear as she says, “This isn’t done until they’re dead.” As far as the franchise’s stylized violence is concerned, you could not have a better mission statement for the rest of the movie.
Ballerina looks set to hold very true to the style and tone that previous Wick films have established over the past decade, but at the same time, its creators have also made it clear that this is a new adventure. The whole series has always had an emphasis on balletic combat, and that remains on full display here. The choreography, as you’d imagine, is just as precise and expertly executed as you would want from a John Wick film. The film still also looks sleek and cinematic, and is building on the world that Keanu Reeves helped to create.
