Ballerina is one of my most anticipated movies of the summer (it was firmly in my top five of 2025 blockbuster movies rankings), but there was something that I was skeptical about — the potential of Keanu Reeves’ John Wick coming in and overshadowing everything.
On the promotional material, you’ll see the movie referred to as From the World of John Wick: Ballerina. I get it, John Wick is a hugely popular franchise, of which I am a fan, and that is a way to ensure people know Ballerina is set in the same universe. But I was starting to worry that the movie was going to rely too heavily on Reeves’ John Wick, as every subsequent trailer appeared to show more of his involvement in the movie. That, combined with John Wick 5 being in development, I worried whether or not Wick would overshadow de Armas’ new character, Eve.
Now, I have not seen Ballerina yet, so I don’t know exactly how big of a part Reeves actually has in the movie; it could be just slightly more than a cameo that they’re just milking for all its worth in promo materials. Also, the crux of the movie is set during the story of John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, so I don’t have to worry about too much continuity being wrecked because Wick is alive again (unlike with a potential Chapter 5, though director Chad Stahelski assures fans it will be a “new story”). But a pair of recent clips I have seen have started to turn my worries into excitement.
First, let’s start with a new Ballerina clip that shows de Arams’ Eve getting into a fight with a chef in the kitchen. Right away, I feel at home as the fight is well-staged, uses what she has at her disposal in the environment and she takes a few hits herself, showing that while she is skilled, she’s not invincible. If this is a sampling of what’s to come, all signs point to the Wick spinoff continuing the franchise’s legacy as one of the best action franchises around.
Check out the full clip right here:
The second clip is a behind-the-scenes clip from Instagram that shows training that de Armas and Reeves did together to prepare for a fight they have in the movie, interspersed with some brief snippets from the movie.
It’s honestly not much, but seeing these two together and practicing for a potentially epic fight has got me excited to see it play out on screen. Watch the Instagram reel for yourself below:
I still hope that Reeves just passes through here and that Ballerina truly does belong to de Armas. I’ve really enjoyed her work for a while now and she’s shown that she has the chops to be an action hero in No Time to Die and Ghosted (even if the latter movie wasn’t anything to write home about). So, it would be great to see her take on an action franchise that can stand on its own without John Wick. But if she has to fight the Baba Yaga first to do that, then so be it.
Ballerina premieres exclusively in movie theaters worldwide on June 6.
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