‘John Wick’ Spinoff ‘Ballerina’ Sets Release Date

Move over, John Wick, here comes Ballerina.

While the state of the John Wick franchise after Chapter 4 remains unclear (although director Chad Stahelski has started giving more hints that Chapter 5 could still happen), the franchise is continuing regardless. The first spinoff from the main series, Ballerina, is in production right now. And today Lionsgate announced the film’s release date. It will open in theaters next summer.

Ballerina stars Ana de Armas, alongside returning John Wick veterans Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane, and Keanu Reeves, as well as the late Lance Reddick in one of his final film roles. New additions to the cast include Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Norman Reedus.

READ MORE: How They Pulled off John Wick: Chapter 4’s Amazing Stairwell Scene

Per the movie’s distributor, Lionsgate, here is the film’s official synopsis:

The world of John Wick expands with BALLERINA, as Ana de Armas stars as an assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma.

While de Armas did not appear in any of the previous John Wick movies, this milieu of deadly ballerinas first appeared in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. In that film, Reeves’ character went to visit someone known only as “The Director,” played by Anjelica Huston, and demands she help him escape New York City because of his past deeds in her service. (The Director moonlights as the head of the aforementioned Ruska Roma crime family.)

This sequence played out in a theater where a ballet was being rehearsed. The Director then took Wick backstage, where it was revealed that the dancers in the ballet were also highly trained assassins like Wick himself. (Sadly, Keanu Reeves never busted out any dance moves of his own.)

Ballerina is scheduled to open in theaters on June 7, 2024.