Ballerina

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Eve Macarro is the daughter of assassins Javier of the Ruska Roma crime syndicate and his Cultist wife. As a child, Eve was taken away from the Cult by Javier, which led to the death of her mother. To retrieve Eve, the Cult and its Chancellor raid their home; Javier dies as he helps Eve escape. New York Continental manager Winston Scott brings Eve to the Ruska Roma, an assassins society under the cover of performance dancers, where she meets their Director and agrees to enlist. Over the next 12 years, Eve trains as a ballerina, assassin, and bodyguard. She briefly meets John Wick during his visit with the Director, and he hints at an escape from the cycle. However, Eve completes her training by killing a former Ruska Roma member and earns the title of 'Kikimora'. During her first mission, Eve successfully protects her first ward.

In Their Own Story

While on a mission two months later, Eve is attacked by and kills a Cultist, who bears the same mark as those that murdered her father. Seeking revenge, she asks the Director about the Cult but is forbidden from pursuing them due to a longstanding truce between the Cult and the Ruska Roma. Eve disobeys the Director and visits the New York Continental to meet Winston. Winston reveals that this 'Cult' is separate from most other organized crime syndicates, as they are more uncivilized and 'kill not just for business, but for sport.' Winston informs Eve that one Cultist, Daniel Pine, is staying at the Prague Continental with a large bounty on his life. Eve travels there and infiltrates Pine's room; she discovers Pine is hiding his daughter Ella from the Cult. Cult member Lena increases the bounty on Pine, causing several assassins to descend upon Pine's hotel room. Pine entrusts Ella to Eve, promising to give her information on the Cult later. As they exit the hotel, Cultist Dex shoots Pine, while Lena incapacitates Eve and kidnaps Ella. The Continental staff execute two captured assassins for their attack but spare Eve after determining she did not break any Continental rules. Eve eventually tracks the Cult to Hallstatt, Austria, where she is captured and brought to the Chancellor. He reveals the Cult is a refuge for former assassins and that Pine is his son and Ella his granddaughter. Eve breaks free before being cornered by Lena, who reveals she is her older sister. Lena says Javier abandoned her during his escape as he feared that the Cult had already indoctrinated her. The Chancellor then orders their deaths; Lena is killed, but Eve manages to escape. The Chancellor calls the Director to declare war on the Ruska Roma. However, the Director explains that Eve went rogue and appeases the Chancellor by hiring John Wick to eliminate her. John arrives at Hallstatt, where he finds and quickly defeats Eve, but implores her to abandon her pursuit. Eve pleads for her revenge, prompting a sympathetic John to give her until midnight to kill the Chancellor. Eve resumes fighting the Cult while John assists her from a distance as a sniper, killing Dex and several other Cultists. The Chancellor attempts to flee with Ella, but Eve corners them. The Chancellor attempts to reason with Eve, but she kills him and rescues Ella. John informs the Director of the Chancellor's demise, which she accepts, and departs the area. Ella is reunited with a recovering Pine at the Prague Continental. Eve seeks refuge at the New York Continental, having left the Ruska Roma, and is warned by Winston that the surviving members of the Cult will seek revenge against her. While attending a ballet performance of *Swan Lake* by her friend Tatiana, Eve learns of a $5 million bounty on her head and, with several other audience members also receiving the message, she leaves the theater.

Reader's Guide

Eve Macarro is the central character of *Ballerina*, a young woman who trains for 12 years within the Ruska Roma, an assassins society under the cover of performance dancers. Her combat style is rooted in her ballet training, allowing her to move with lethal grace. Key figures in her journey include the Director (Anjelica Huston), the leader of the Ruska Roma; Winston Scott (Ian McShane), the owner of the New York Continental Hotel; and John Wick (Keanu Reeves), who assists her in her final confrontation. Her primary antagonist is the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), the leader of a dangerous cult of assassins based in Hallstatt, Austria. Eve's story is defined by her quest for revenge against the Cult that killed her father, her discovery that Lena (Catalina Sandino Moreno) is her long-lost older sister, and her eventual rescue of Ella Pine (Ava McCarthy), the Chancellor's granddaughter. The film concludes with Eve learning of a $5 million bounty on her head as she leaves a performance of *Swan Lake*.

Did You Know?

• The film was originally scheduled for release in 2024 but was delayed to June 6, 2025.
• Lance Reddick's appearance as Charon in *Ballerina* is his final on-screen role, released posthumously two years after his death in March 2023.
• Ana de Armas insisted on the involvement of a female screenwriter, leading to Emerald Fennell being hired to take a pass on the script.
• The film's budget was $90 million, and it grossed $140.2 million worldwide.
• Shay Hatten's spec script for *Ballerina* was voted onto The Black List of best unproduced screenplays in 2017.