BALLERINA TRAILER 1

The John Wick franchise evolved from an indie action flick, to a lore-heavy cinematic universe. And now, for the first time, it’s gone beyond Keanu Reeves. The results are…. Interesting. This is the 1^st trailer for Ballerina.

Eve Macarro (Ana De Armas) is a young orphan recruited by the mysterious Ruska Roma, a group of dancers secretly training as covert assassins. Growing up, Eve becomes an elite killer, one of the greatest the Ruska Roma has ever produced.

Under the protection of the Continental’s owner Winston (Ian Winston), Eve comes into conflict with the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), a shadowy foe who eventually hunts down Eve using hundreds of covert operatives. Now, Eve must use her training to fight her way against some of the world’s most dangerous people, or she’ll wind up dead… or worse.

The trailer consists of Eve in various fight scenes across the world, ending in a conversation with a sympathetic John Wick (Keanu Reeves).

The John Wick series have recently felt dragged down by their lore. While once one of the franchise’s biggest unique selling points, the most recent installments have delved so deeply into a once-purposefully vague universe that it feels bogged down by extraneous details.

And the 1^st trailer for Ballerina commits the same sin. Much of the film’s ties to the wider universe feel distractingly obtrusive, and De Armas’ character feels too stoic and empty to be an emotional base amidst all the noise. The film will likely be successful, but without an actor with equal pathos as Keanu Reeves, the Ballerina franchise’s anchors may be too heavy for the film to bear.

Directed by Len Wiseman, Ballerina will release theatrically in the US on June 6, 2025. The movie stars an ensemble cast led by Ana De Armas.