Ballerina (2025): A John Wick Story of Grace, Grit, and Vengeance
Set in the sleek, blood-soaked underworld of the John Wick universe, Ballerina (2025) delivers a stylish, kinetic blend of ballet and bullets, beauty and brutality. Directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld, Live Free or Die Hard), this spin-off centers on a deadly female assassin trained in the same infamous ballet academy featured in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.
Ana de Armas stars as Rooney, a young ballerina with a haunted past and unmatched skill in both dance and death. When her family is slaughtered by a mysterious crime syndicate with ties to her past, Rooney embarks on a relentless quest for vengeance across Europe’s darkest criminal corridors. Her journey uncovers a larger conspiracy within the High Table—the same ruling power that once turned John Wick into a legend.
Set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, Ballerina expands the franchise’s universe while offering a more intimate, character-driven story. Where John’s rampage was rooted in mourning, Rooney’s is fueled by rage, identity, and survival.
Ana de Armas is a revelation. Known for her breakout action in No Time to Die, here she pushes further—emotionally and physically. Rooney is not just an assassin; she’s a performer, trained to move with poise and precision. De Armas merges grace and ferocity in fight scenes choreographed like a violent ballet—using blades, guns, and even pointe shoes as weapons. Her performance is both balletic and brutal, making Rooney a worthy heir to the Wick legacy.
Keanu Reeves makes a brief but impactful appearance as John Wick, offering guidance—and warning—to Rooney in a quietly powerful cameo. Also returning is Anjelica Huston as the enigmatic Director of the Ruska Roma, who oversees the deadly dancers and once mentored both John and Rooney. New additions include Gabriel Luna as a rival assassin with a hidden agenda, and Catalina Sandino Moreno as a High Table emissary trying to contain the chaos.
The film's action sequences are nothing short of operatic. Set pieces include a rooftop chase in Prague during a snowstorm, a deadly duet in a candlelit theater, and a full-on ambush inside a crumbling opera house—each scene meticulously crafted with the franchise’s signature gun-fu style, but elevated by balletic movement and dramatic lighting.
Composer Tyler Bates returns, blending haunting classical compositions with pulsing synths and percussive beats that mirror Rooney’s dual world of elegance and violence.
Yet Ballerina isn’t all action. The film dives deeper into the emotional cost of being a weapon trained from childhood. Themes of identity, autonomy, and revenge are woven through the narrative, giving Rooney’s journey weight beyond the body count. Her struggle to reclaim her name—her self—in a world that sees her only as a tool mirrors John Wick’s own rebellion against the system.
In the end, Ballerina proves that the John Wick universe has more stories to tell—and that vengeance, like dance, is an art form. Bold, bloody, and beautiful, Ballerina pirouettes into its own spotlight with lethal elegance.
