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Full spoilers follow for John Wick 4.
John Wick is back! Well, sort of. You see, the first trailer for Ballerina, the next spin-off project set in the John Wick universe, will see Keanu Reeves’ iconic hitman make a surprise return to the big screen.
Confused? Don’t be. I’ll explain more about how and why everyone’s favorite gun-fu master will feature in the forthcoming Ana de Armas-led action film later. Hey, this isn’t a movie centered on Wick himself, so why allow him to steal the spotlight in this article?
Anyway – yes, the first trailer for Ballerina: From the World of John Wick is here, and it looks every bit as thrilling, action-packed, and dramatically character-driven as the franchise’s first four films. You can check out the inaugural teaser for one of next year’s new movies – it’s set to debut in theaters on June 6, 2025 – below:
I can’t speak for everyone, but it looks very impressive from where I’m sitting. Indeed, I was quite disappointed that we didn’t see more of de Armas taking names and kicking ass in 2021’s No Time to Die, aka the final time Daniel Craig inhabited the role of legendary spy James Bond, or in The Gray Man on Netflix. I didn’t watch the Cuban-Spanish actress beat up guys left, right, and center in Apple TV Plus‘ maligned Ghosted movie, either, because I heard it wasn’t very good. So, I’m eager to see de Armas prove she’s got the mettle to deliver the goods as the main attraction in an action flick.
But enough of my fawning – what’s Ballerina about? Here’s a brief plot synopsis, courtesy of a Lionsgate press release: “Taking place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, the film follows Eve Macarro (de Armas) who is beginning her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma.”
Not a lot to go on, then, but the trailer suggests Macarro will embark on her own revenge-fuelled mission to track down those who murdered her family. She says as much in the movie’s first teaser, so expect lots of bone-breaking, bullet-laced, and improvised action throughout.
How is John Wick alive in Ballerina?
Okay, so back to the question on everyone’s lips: what’s Wick doing in Ballerina? After all, the final moments of John Wick: Chapter 4 implied that the titular hitman died after his tear-jerking and suspense-filled duel with Donnie Yen’s Caine.
The short answer is that Ballerina is a pre-sequel. As Lionsgate’s story brief reveals, its narrative runs concurrent to the one depicted in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Obvious as it is to say, but Wick is still alive and kicking at this point on the John Wick timeline, which is why he’s able to make a cameo appearance in the de Armas-fronted spin-off film.
Reeves’ Wick isn’t the only fan-favorite character we’ll see again in Ballerina. The late Lance Reddick, who passed away in March 2023, will also make his final big-screen appearance as Charon, the concierge of the New York branch of global hitman safehouses known as collectively as The Continental. Ian McShane’s Winstone, who manages The Continental New York, is also returning for this spin-off flick. Joining de Armas and the aforementioned trio in Ballerina are Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Norman Reedus.
Ballerina is the first John Wick film offshoot we’ll see, but it isn’t the franchise’s first spin-off. Indeed, that was The Continental, a three-part miniseries that debuted on Peacock (US) and Prime Video (internationally) in late 2023.
Unfortunately, The Continental: From the World of John Wick wasn’t as great as I’d hoped. You can read more about why that’s the case in my review of The Continental, or see how the prequel show tried to do something different by trading in John Wick’s signature gun-fu for expressive “disco noir”.
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