As one of the 21st Century’s greatest cinematic creations, John Wick is the gift that keeps on giving for better and worse, with Keanu Reeves’ sharp-suited assassin managing to improve with every new outing while also having the adverse effect of giving rise to a slew of imitators.
The universe keeps on expanding, too, with prequel series The Continental on the horizon and Ana de Armas’ spin-off Ballerina set for release in theaters next year. It’s growing old to hear any new ass-kicking actioner described as “the new John Wick,” but Netflix’s latest is stating a much stronger case than most.
Not only is it quite literally called Ballerina, but it’s also a revenge-fueled and blood-soaked rampage that finds a determined protagonist bludgeoning, butchering, and decimating reams upon reams of faceless goons in an effort to exact brutal retribution. On the plus side, as we can infer from the new trailer, it looks suitably awesome.
It’s only been a few months since Kill Boksoon was dubbed “Netflix does John Wick,” but Ballerina is stating a much stronger case even if you ignore the identikit title. It looks as though it’ll be a straight shot of adrenaline from start to finish, and based on how hungry subscribers are for cinematic carnage and wanton chaos, it’s reasonable to expect the pulse-pounding original to debut as one of the most popular titles on the platform once it premieres on Oct. 6, whether or not it manages to live up to such lofty expectations.