Ana de Armas' “Ballerina” meets Keanu Reeves' John Wick in fiery CinemaCon footage

Here's a recap of what CinemaCon attendees got to see of the spinoff film, coming in 2025.

Baba Yaga faithfuls have a longer wait before they see the John Wick spinoff Ballerina on the big screen, but CinemaCon attendees in Las Vegas on Wednesday not only received an early first look at Ana de Armas in the titular role, but also her character's meeting with Keanu Reeves' gun-fu assassin.

"How do I start doing what you do?" Armas' assassin named Rooney, a former ballerina, asks Reeves' John Wick in the footage, which Lionsgate has not released online for public viewing as of yet.

"Looks like you already have," he replies, his face alone triggering excited hoots and hollers from the CinemaCon audience.

Set between the events of the third and fourth John Wick films, Ballerina stars Armas as an assassin trained in the tradition of the Ruska Roma, one of the 12 international criminal organizations that holds a seat at the High Table in John Wick lore. Anjelica Huston returns as the Director in the footage to remark of Rooney, "Your childhood was taken from you.... There is an anger in you. You seek vengeance upon those who harmed you."

Ian McShane and the late Lance Reddick make return appearances as Winston, the owner of the Continental Hotel, and Charon, the hotel's concierge.

The CinemaCon crowd went wild for the reveal of The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus in character, who warns Rooney, "You have no idea what you just walked into."

Directed by Len Wiseman and produced by franchise veterans Chad Stahelski, Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Ballerina promises to have a lot of the great action set pieces that have made John Wick so popular. The footage showed flashes of Rooney tearing into enemies with blades in close-corner combat, and later leaping on the back of a truck to fire a flamethrower at the driver through the window.

With the delayed release to June 6, 2025, Lionsgate motion picture group chair Adam Fogelson said "the filmmakers were given the opportunity to add significant set pieces to the film." And they are doing that work as we speak.

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