Grace in motion. Death in silence.”
Genre: Action / Thriller
Director: Len Wiseman
Starring: Ana de Armas, Keanu Reeves (cameo), Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno
Runtime: 2h 3min
Release Date: June 7, 2024
From the blood-soaked world of John Wick comes a spin-off that dares to dance on the razor’s edge between elegance and brutality. Ballerina: A John Wick Story explores the origins of a deadly assassin molded by pain, perfected by precision, and driven by revenge.
Set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and Chapter 4, the film follows Rooney, a young ballerina trained at the Ruska Roma, as she embarks on a cold-blooded mission against the men who murdered her family. But revenge, in the Wick universe, always comes at a price.
Rooney (Ana de Armas) was once a rising star among the Ruska Roma dancers, raised under the cruel yet meticulous care of The Director (Anjelica Huston). But behind every pirouette was a lesson in survival—every rehearsal a test of obedience. Beneath the stage, young girls like Rooney learned more than ballet: they learned to kill.
Years later, Rooney discovers a truth long buried: her family’s death in a fire wasn’t accidental. It was a hit ordered by a secretive cabal of High Table loyalists seeking to wipe out her bloodline. Now, with nothing left to lose, Rooney sets out to exact vengeance—one target at a time.
Her journey takes her from the icy streets of Prague to underground fighting clubs in Morocco, and into the neon-lit alleys of Tokyo, where the rules of the High Table are carved into flesh. Along the way, she unravels a network of betrayal that reaches deeper into the underworld than even John Wick dared to go.
Ana de Armas delivers a haunting, graceful, and visceral performance as Rooney. Unlike Wick’s controlled rage, Rooney’s fury is raw—grief wrapped in grace. She dances between vulnerability and lethal precision, a killer whose beauty masks her brutality.
Anjelica Huston returns as The Director, offering chilling insight into the psychological conditioning behind Rooney’s transformation. Her scenes add emotional gravity, exposing the dark paradox of raising killers in the name of family.
Gabriel Byrne plays Marius Kravchenko, a retired enforcer now pulling strings from the shadows. With a voice like gravel and a heart made of steel, Marius serves as Rooney’s reluctant guide into the blackened heart of the assassin world.
Keanu Reeves appears in a brief but powerful cameo. In a silent exchange during a rain-soaked cemetery scene, John Wick offers Rooney more than words—a knowing look, a shared pain, and a mutual understanding that vengeance never ends. It only changes faces.
Ballerina expands the John Wick universe beyond the Continental hotels. We glimpse new assassin cultures:
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The Silk Syndicate – elegant but brutal killers who use fabric as weapons.
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The Ashen Circle – blind monks who kill by sound alone.
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The Vantablack Room – a shadow society where contracts are signed in blood and memory.
Each encounter tests Rooney’s strength, not just in combat, but in loyalty, emotion, and willpower. The deeper she goes, the more she questions who she truly is: a ballerina, a weapon, or something else entirely.
The choreography in Ballerina is poetic carnage. Fights are staged like performances—ballet interwoven with blades, gun-fu in grand halls, duels in the ruins of opera houses. One standout scene involves Rooney eliminating four targets inside an abandoned theater while performing a solo dance to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. The juxtaposition of grace and gore is both mesmerizing and unsettling.
Cinematographer Paul Cameron (of John Wick 2) returns with his signature neon-noir style. Every frame is a painting—shadows stretch like daggers, and blood looks almost artistic on white marble floors. Combined with an evocative score by Marco Beltrami, the film’s atmosphere is haunting, romantic, and vicious.
While action dominates, Ballerina is, at its core, a story of identity and autonomy. Rooney isn’t just seeking revenge—she’s trying to reclaim her narrative, stolen by those who shaped her into a weapon.
There’s tragedy in her solitude. She can’t trust anyone—not the family that raised her, not the killers she hunts, and not even herself. Each kill takes her further from who she was and closer to who she’s becoming.
Is she still dancing for herself… or for the ghosts behind her?
The final act crescendos in a confrontation as poetic as it is savage. Surrounded by fire, mirrors, and memories, Rooney must choose: complete her vengeance and lose what’s left of her soul, or walk away and live with the pain.
Her decision sets the stage for future chapters in the John Wick universe, leaving the audience stunned, breathless, and hungry for more.
Ballerina: A John Wick Story is not just a spin-off—it’s an evolution. It honors the legacy of John Wick while forging a path that is distinct, emotional, and visually unforgettable.
Rooney doesn’t walk in John’s footsteps—she dances through them, leaving a trail of roses, ash, and blood.
Tagline: “Every step is a choice. Every kill, a memory.”
