Lionsgate Movies have just dropped a new trailer for the latest movie in the John Wick universe. The spin-off will star Ana de Armas in the titular role of the Ballerina, a dancer and, judging by the trailer, mass killer much like her Keanu Reeves-cast forebear. There’s a heavy focus on action in the clips, with de Armas out-battling a number of larger foes in an ever-more creative manner with bag-of-tricks tactics, at one point slamming a hand grenade into a man’s mouth shortly before crushing him into the corner with a large, metal door to contain the explosion.
Delay Caused by Redo of Stunt Sequences
The movie, occurring during the events of the third mainline John Wick movie, was originally meant to come out a few months back, in June 2024. However, the action sequences were clearly deemed not to be quite up to snuff, because Chad Stahelski was drafted in to re-work them. Stahelski is the former martial arts instructor turned stunt expert who directed the mainline John Wick movies, and he has a peerless reputation as an action director. The Reeves-driven assassin franchise is not the first time Stahelski has worked with the Bill and Ted actor: One of his big breaks was working as a stunt double for Reeves in the philosophical sci-fi film series, The Matrix.
Expect Familiar Faces But a Different Style of Fighting
The trailer begins with de Armas’ would-be assassin during her childhood, spattered with blood and clearly devastated, presumably following the incident which leads to the movie’s violence. Throughout the trailer, a number of familiar faces appear, including the late Lance Reddick, in one of his final performances, as the concierge of the Continental hotel.
“You will always be weaker; you will always be smaller,” the new assassin is reminded during her training, as she is told to “improvise, adapt … cheat.” This sets it up for a slightly different flavor of action to what viewers of its adjunct movies might expect; It will be interesting to see how the main character’s stature affects the type of action sequence and fighting style the film’s creators choose for her. Check out the trailer below for a taste of what to expect.
The film is currently planned for release on June 7, 2025, and also stars Norman Reedus, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Ian Mcshane, and Gabriel Byrne. Reeves himself also makes a late appearance in the trailer.
