The next hero in the John Wick franchise is Eve (Ana de Armas), a ballerina/assassin who is trained under the Ruska Roma, which is helmed by the Director (Anjelica Huston) who we learned about in John Wick: Chapter 2. Eve is being set up to become a contract assassin and ward protector, a similar role to John Wick. She has spent 12 years in this training and it has become a life she is now accustomed to.

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina follows a new character in the successful franchise and provides several of the violent fight sequences viewers have expected from the series. This is also an origin story, something John Wick never had, and is perfect for using the Hero’s Journey as its guide.

What is the Hero’s Journey?

The Hero’s Journey is a concept created by American writer and philosopher Joseph Campbell and is a common template used in storytelling. Its most famous iteration has been Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: A New Hope and it has also been the guide for some of the biggest movies: The Matrix, The Lion King, Spider-Man, Iron Man and Moana.

It’s a 12-step journey that establishes the character in their ordinary world until something calls them on an adventure. From there, they must navigate their way through challenges and tests, eventually coming out on the other side a different person who returns to their ordinary world.
Here are the steps of the journey:

1. The Ordinary World
   
2. Call to Adventure
   
3. Refusal of the Call
   
4. Meeting the Mentor
   
5. Crossing the First Threshold
   
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies
   
7. Approach to the Inmost Cave
   
8. Ordeal
   
9. Reward
   
10. The Road Back
    
11. Atonement or Resurrection
    
12. Return as a Different Person

There isn’t a specified number of pages or time in which any character would spend in the individual 12 steps, however the first 3 steps tend to happen quickly as the bulk of the movie takes place once the character Crosses the First Threshold.

Ian McShane and Ana de Armas in 'From the World of John Wick: Ballerina'

What is the Hero’s Journey in ‘Ballerina’?

This analysis will look at most, but not all, of the steps in the Hero’s Journey in Ballerina and other films for comparison. That way, when you watch the movie, you’ll be able to follow the journey yourself and see how the filmmakers used this storytelling framework to shape the narrative.

Steps 1, 2 and 3:

Arguably, the first three steps of the Hero’s Journey take place in the first scene of Ballerina.

Ordinary World: The first scene establishes Eve as a young girl living with her father. They have a loving relationship except we soon learn they escaped the Cult and some of its members are after them.

Call to Adventure: Being with her father, they are attacked and must defend themselves, although Eve is stashed away in a secret pathway but still able to watch her father fight off the bad guys.

Refusal of the Call: (Tiny Spoiler) It’s hard to pinpoint one in Ballerina, but it’s a step that never goes well. In this case, Eve refuses to stay hidden and, before her father is almost killed, sneaks out and shoots the attacker. Sometimes the refusal is going against someone’s wishes. In Wizard of Oz, Dorothy doesn’t listen to her aunt and uncle and goes to retrieve Toto, which then leads to the tornado scene.

Here are some other examples of these steps:

• Harry Potter’s life sucks as he lives under his uncle’s stairs, then letters start to arrive. He can’t leave his family though, at least not until a mentor arrives and pulls him away.
• Luke Skywalker is a farmer, then his aunt and uncle are killed, changing his path in life.
• Marlin has created a protective world for himself and his son but when his son is kidnapped, he must leave his ordinary world with the goal of Finding Nemo.

Step 4: Meeting the Mentor/Supernatural Aid

After the first scene, Winston (Ian McShane) arrives as Eve’s first mentor who leads her to Ruska Roma and the Director. 12 years later, Eve is training to be both a ballerina and a Kikimora assassin. The Director is a strict mentor, ordering her to do the same ballet movie over and over, even as her foot bleeds – this pushes Eve to deal with pain and never stop even when it hurts.

Her other mentor is Nogi (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) who teaches the art of combat advising her that she will never overpower a bigger, stronger man because her weakness is the fact that she is small and weak. Instead, Eve must use her strengths as a female to strike back against an attacking male.

Harry Potter: For Harry Potter, his mentor is Hagrid.
The Matrix: For Neo, his mentor is Morpheus. 

Ana de Armas in 'From the World of John Wick: Ballerina'

Step 5: Crossing the Threshold

When a Hero crosses the threshold, they are officially embarking on the unknown part of their journey where they are tested, challenged and forced to face multiple obstacles until they are down on their knees and almost out for the count.

For Eve, her crossing the threshold moment is when she leaves the place she has spent the last 12 years and is tasked with protecting her first ward. In essence, she literally crosses the threshold out of the place.

This leads to her first fight scene in Minus Eleven, a trendy club, where she must prove her skills and protect her ward. It’s a ‘no going back’ moment that involves the outrageous violence expected in the John Wick franchise and places her solidly into new territory.

Wizard of Oz: Dorothy opens the door to the colorful city of Oz.
The Matrix: Neo swallows the red pill.

Step 6: Tests, Allies and Enemies

After successfully fulfilling several contracts, Eve notices a familiar mark on the wrist of one of the dead men. It takes her back to the night she witnessed her father’s murder and recalls the same mark on one of his assassin’s wrists. This is where Ballerina sets itself apart from John Wick. Eve is in search of answers, whereas Wick is either running from someone or seeking vengeance. It sets her on the path where her resolve is constantly tested, she finds a few allies and gains plenty of new enemies.

This step is the meat of the movie and can last several scenes.

Tests come in the form of what you would expect in a John Wick universe – shootouts, close combat and lots of bodies. But they also include more internal tests as well, such as managing the temptation of making money for killing people.

Harry Potter: In the first Harry Potter, Harry is meeting friends like Hermoine and Ron, enemies like Draco Malfoy and learning what house he belongs in.

Barbie: This step is also known as the fun and games portion of the movie and, in Barbie, it’s when she explores the real world.

Step 7: Approach the Inmost Cave

This step is used to give the audience a breather and provide the Hero a chance to psych themselves up before the final battle. In Ballerina, Eve is getting closer to discovering who killed her father and is headed in that direction. Most often, the Hero knows they are going to face their biggest antagonist head on and win the day, at least they think they will. Plans are put into place and they are determined to see it through.

Jaws: This is the scene in Jaws when the three men are talking and drinking on the boat the night before they encounter the shark. They are preparing for the fight.

Wizard of Oz: Dorothy is told by the Wizard that she needs to get the witch’s broomstick before he can help her

This is Where I Leave You

From here on out, the Hero’s Journey is full of spoilers for Ballerina. However, with the information provided above, you can now watch Ballerina, follow her journey and see how the remaining steps play out in the film.

Here are some examples of the remaining steps in the Hero’s Journey:

Ordeal: In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s ordeal comes when she realizes the Wonderful Oz is full of crap and that she might not ever make it home.

Reward: In The Lion King, the Ordeal was Simba’s killing Scar leading to his Reward: the return to Pride Rock.

The Road Back: In Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, the Road Back involves gathering all of the history’s characters they’ve collected through time back to San Dimas High School in time for the presentation.

Atonement or Resurrection: Sticking with Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, their resurrection is their oral report where they prove they are competent and capable of great things in spite of everyone who doubted them. 

Return as a Different Person: In Billy Madison, the title character has completed his journey from slacker to high school graduate and, in his Ordinary World, has become a success.

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What’s interesting about researching and learning more about the Hero’s Journey is that it serves both as a guide for screenwriters and a point of discussion for moviegoers. There have been several instances where conflicting interpretations of the Hero’s Journey have been applied to films like The Wizard of Oz and Batman Begins. Nevertheless, screenwriters can use the Hero’s Journey as a template for their own stories, and gain insight into its application in films such as Ballerina, and apply to their own screenwriting.