Explore everything about Ballerina (2025), the action-thriller set in the John Wick universe. Starring Ana de Armas, the film follows a deadly assassin seeking vengeance for her family’s murder. Get the latest trailers, cast info, plot details, release updates, and behind-the-scenes content.
Ballerina (marketed as From the World of John Wick: Ballerina) is a 2025 American action thriller film directed by Len Wiseman and written by Shay Hatten. It is the fifth installment in the John Wick franchise and it takes place after the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and before the events of John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023).[7] It stars Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick (in his final screen appearance), Norman Reedus, Ian McShane, and Keanu Reeves. In the film, ballerina-turned-assassin Eve Macarro (de Armas) takes on an army of killers as she seeks revenge against those responsible for the death of her father.
Lionsgate acquired Hatten’s spec script for the spin-off film in 2017, leading to him contributing to the final script for Parabellum and serving as the lead writer for Chapter 4. In October 2019, Wiseman was hired as director; Chad Stahelski, who had directed the previous John Wick films, was confirmed as a producer by May 2020. Ballerina was officially announced in April 2022, with de Armas confirmed as the lead. Principal photography occurred from November 2022 to January 2023 in Prague; additional action sequences were shot starting in February 2024.
Ballerina was released in the United States on June 6, 2025. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and grossed over $96 million worldwide.
Cast
- Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, a ballerina who is beginning to train in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma.[8] According to co-star Ian McShane, the character is under the protection of Winston and Charon in the New York Continental Hotel during the course of the film.[9]
- Victoria Comte as young Eve
- Anjelica Huston as the Director, the leader of the Ruska Roma, a New York-based organization of ballerina assassins.[10]
- Gabriel Byrne as the Chancellor,[11] the main antagonist of the film and the leader of a dangerous cult of assassins based in Hallstatt.[9][12]
- Lance Reddick as Charon, the concierge at the Continental Hotel in New York and friend of Winston Scott and acquaintance of John Wick.[13] This was Reddick’s final appearance as Charon, and overall final on-screen appearance released posthumously.[14]
- Norman Reedus as Daniel Pine, an assassin and the Chancellor’s son who is escaping the Cult.[15] Reedus admired Keanu Reeves for the film series’ demanding “I-need-a-bottle-of-Advil-all-day-long type of job”. Reedus contrasted the tightly choreographed fight scenes in the film from the “loose” and “sloppy” ones in his series The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (2023–present).[16]
- Catalina Sandino Moreno as Lena, an assassin working for the Chancellor, who is Eve’s long-lost older sister.[17]
- Ian McShane as Winston Scott, the enigmatic owner of the New York Continental Hotel and friend of John Wick.[18]
- Keanu Reeves as John Wick, a professional hitman and legendary assassin who has gained a reputation for his skills and is on the run from the High Table.
Sharon Duncan-Brewster appears as Nogi, Eve’s mentor.[19] Choi Soo-young plays Katla Park, Eve’s first field mission protectee, while Robert Maaser plays Dex, the Chancellor’s right-hand man.[20] Jung Doo-hong appears as Il Seong, who attempts to capture Katla.[21] Waris Ahluwalia appears as The Eye, a cultist overseeing the town, while David Castañeda plays Javier Macarro, Eve and Lena’s father who is affiliated with the Ruska Roma.[22] Abraham Popoola stars as Frank, a high-end arms dealer based in Prague, while Ava McCarthy plays Ella Pine, the Chancellor’s granddaughter and Pine’s daughter.[23] Juliet Doherty portrays Tatiana, a talented ballerina who was a former trainee of the Ruska Roma alongside Eve before she was dismissed.[24] Daniel Bernhardt plays the Scarred Eye Assassin, after previously portraying Kirill in the first film
