Ever since we saw Ana de Armas taking names and kicking ass as Cuban intelligence operative Paloma in James Bond joint No Time To Die, we've been desperate to see her take the lead in an action movie of her very own. Enter From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina (Ballerina for short), director Len Wiseman's upcoming John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum and Chapter 4 midquel, in which de Armas plays Ruska Roman ballerina Rooney, whose quest to take vengeance on the group of hitmen who killed her family sees her retrain as a deadly assassin. Just another day in the John Wick universe then!
"Do you like to dance? I know a school where they teach dancers." So says Ian McShane's hotelier-for-hitmen Winston to a bloodied young Rooney at the start of this first trailer. And sure, there may be a fouetté and a tutu or two to be found at the Tarkovsky Theatre, where a fully-grown Rooney trains under Ruska Roman mob boss and part-time mentor The Director (Anjelica Huston), but Nutcracker ain't a dance you perform in the John Wick Universe — it's a thing you do. And before you can say "nice plié!", de Armas' Rooney is arming up, shattering glass, taking down wrong'uns, and — in a very cool end-of-teaser sting — meeting the Baba Yaga himself, Mr. John Wick. "How do I start doing what you do?" asks Rooney. "Looks like you already have," comes Keanu Reeves' familiarly gruff reply. Yeah, we're thinking Wick's back!
Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Norman Reedus are among the other new faces entering the JWU for Ballerina, whilst the film is also set to see a welcome appearance from the late, great Lance Reddick as Charon. Coming off the back of Prime Video prequel series The Continental, and the recent announcements of a Caine movie starring Donnie Yen and a John Wick: Chapter 4 sequel series called Under The High Table, Ballerina's ballsy new trailer is further proof that the Wick franchise's future is looking brighter than ever. And we can look forward to pirouetting into our local multiplex to watch de Armas get her revenge when Ballerina hits cinemas on 6 June, 2025.
