Donnie Yen to headline John Wick spinoff film

A spinoff revolving around the Caine character, played by Donnie Yen in John Wick: Chapter 4, is being developed by Chad Stahelski at Lionsgate as part of his recent agreement with the studio. Yen will play his blind assassin character from Stahelski's John Wick film in the spinoff, which will go on floors in 2025 in Hong Kong. In the fourth part of the John Wick franchise, Caine gets relieved from his High Table obligations, and the spinoff will build on this event. The project comes after the veteran action hero from Hong Kong opposed what he described in the John Wick film's screenplay as Asian stereotypes, prompting director Stahelski to change Yen's character name and clothing for it.

“Working on John Wick: Chapter 4 was an extraordinary experience. The reason these films resonate so deeply is because, like myself, Chad, Basil and Erica push themselves to create action, fights and stunts that are not only thrilling, inventive and artistic, but also expressive of character, story and emotion. Caine is an incredible character with a haunted past, and I am excited to return to the role,” said Yen in the recent past.

Robert Askins is writing the screenplay for the spinoff, but Lionsgate is yet to find a director for the project. It is second spinoff that Lionsgate announced this year. Earlier, they announced a Ballerina spinoff. Basil Iwanyk, Stahelski, and Erica Lee will oversee the yet-to-be-titled project.

Yen became an international name with the Ip Man series as well as made a mark in Hollywood with films such as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Mulan.