The John Wick franchise is, without a doubt, one of the greatest action franchises ever made. Following the titular retired hitman who gets dragged back into the criminal underworld, the Keanu Reeves starring series of films kicked off with John Wick in 2014 and has been going strong ever since with three direct sequels, a comic book series, and even a prequel television series, The Continental. The franchise also got a proper spinoff movie in 2025 and now, that film is headed to a new streaming home.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Released in 2025, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is the fifth film in the John Wick franchise. Set between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum from 2019 and John Wick: Chapter 4 from 2023, the film Eve MaCarro (Ana de Armas), a ballerina and assassin who takes on an army of killers to avenge the death of her father. The film also stars Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Norman Reedus, Ian McShane, Reeves, and Lance Reddick in his final screen appearance. The film received positive reviews from critics and, while the film had one of the lowest box office openings for the John Wick franchise, it still performed admirably at the box office and now, the movie arrives on HBO Max as of March 27th.
Ballerina is the Most Underappreciated Film in the John Wick Universe
Spinoffs are always tricky things, and especially so when it comes to spinoffs of very popular franchises such as John Wick. This is often because spinoffs try to focus on characters with a noted presence in the larger franchise, aiming to either expand their stories or get them to diverge from the core films. However, Ballerina does not do that and it’s actually something that makes the film feel less like a spinoff but very much its own thing — and makes it approachable for audiences that maybe aren’t super into the John Wick movies.
While Reeves’ John Wick does appear in the film, as does other characters from the other John Wick movies, de Armas’ Eve is a brand-new character. We enter the story not having a preconceived notions of who she is or how she fits into the larger world but are quickly introduced to who she is and why she is both a ballerina and an assassin. By giving her her own story — and by making her more of a wiling, active participant in the violent underworld in the franchise, Ballerina offers a new perspective and offers audiences a different entry point. Her motivations are also a solid draw, and, in many respects, Eve is a sympathetic character. Not only is her entry into the dark world of assassins one necessitated by her childhood being upended, but the choices she makes in the film that further disrupt her life are all in the furtherance of what feels like, to her, justice as she avenges her father. The result is an engaging character and story layered into a movie that is full of intense action, and it simply works.
Ballerina might not be the most successful of the John Wick movies, but it’s a solid entry in the franchise. Now, with the film headed to HBO Max this month, more fans will have a chance to check it out and who knows, it might just help us get a Ballerina sequel.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of MAPPA -
Image courtesy of Daybreak Game Company
