What we know about John Wick spin-off Ballerina

The dust may have only just settled on John Wick 4 but that won’t stop us from looking ahead to the Wick-verse’s most hotly-tipped spin-off, Ballerina, starring Ana De Armas. Best known for her scene-stealing appearances in Knives Out and No Time To Die, De Armas is due to return to the action fold as a deadly assassin determined to avenge her murdered family.

Here’s all the key information that you need to know about this sure-to-be-special spin-off.

When and where can I watch Ballerina?

John Wick spin-off Ballerina is due to hit UK cinemas on 6 June 2025, having been delayed from its original release date of 7 June 2024.

During a visit to The One Show in February 2024, Ballerina star Ian McShane candidly explained why the film has hit a release date snag. “They’ve got to protect the franchise,” he said. “They’ve looked at it, and Chad [Stahelski]’s come in, the guy who directed all the John Wick movies, and they want to make it better.”

Is there a trailer for Ballerina?

Yes. The first teaser pulled us back into the Ballerina’s John Wick-inspired world and even featured a brief appearance from Baba Yaga himself.

While short, the Ballerina trailer added some extra lore to a hitman universe first established in Keanu Reeves’ primary franchise while whetting the appetite for more high-spirited battles with a new heroine leading the way. Watch the trailer below.

What will Ballerina be about?

The character of the Ballerina originally appeared in John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum where she was played by New York-based professional ballet dancer Unity Phelan. During Phelan’s brief scene in the movie, Keanu Reeves’ Wick crosses paths with the Ballerina during a meeting with Anjelica Huston’s The Director, leader of the Ruska Roma crime syndicate.

When Wick spies her, this dancer-turned-killer is nothing more than an assassin-in-training. Cut to 2025’s Ballerina and De Armas inherits the role (now named Eve) from Phelan in a new action-thriller that’s set between the events of Parabellum and 2023’s John Wick 4.

While specifics about the film’s plot are still firmly under wraps, we do know that she will be hunting down the contract killer who murdered her family, with plenty of familiar faces from the John Wick universe joining her in some capacity along the way.

Speaking of her role in the movie, DeArmas said: “That is gonna be really another level. That movie was really demanding! You know, I love the John Wick universe and I loved working with Keanu again. It’s a great character and it’s a great story, it’s beautiful on screen. I'm very excited for that one.”

As with every instalment of the franchise so far, we can also expect plenty of edge-of-your-seat fight scenes and lots of inventive death scenes.

Who is starring in Ballerina?

Directed by Underworld filmmaker Len Wiseman, Ballerina will boast a cast that rewards fans of the John Wick franchise, with series centrepiece Reeves due to make an appearance during De Armas’s new mission.

Also joining will be Ian McShane’s Winston Scott, owner of The Continental Hotel, a space that acts as neutral ground for members of the criminal underworld.

The Director will make an appearance courtesy of Huston returning to her Parabellum role, with the late Lance Reddick making one of his final on-screen appearances as Continental concierge Charon. Joining these series regulars will be The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus, Gabriel Byrne and Columbian actor Catalina Sandino Moreno, all in as-yet-undisclosed roles.

Meanwhile, Wiseman will be working from a script penned by Parabellum screenwriter Shay Hatten.

What spin-offs are planned in the John Wick-Verse?

Ballerina isn’t the only John Wick spin-off project fans can enhoy.

The small-screen series The Continental, released on Prime Video in 2023, introduced us to a younger Winston (McShane) and follow his exploits in the 1970s that led him to become the owner of his crime haven hotel. Meanwhile, a fifth instalment of Reeves’ primary Wick storyline was due to be shot back-to-back with part four before those plans were ultimately scrapped.

As it stands, a fifth John Wick film is yet to be greenlit. However, following the glowing response to John Wick 4, we surely won’t have to wait long to see Baba Yaga back at it.

Ballerina will be released on 6 June 2025.