Last April, we reported about Ip Man and Hero star Donnie Yen reprising his blind assassin character, Caine, from John Wick in a spinoff film, which he himself will direct. The latest development on the John Wick spinoff is that production on it is underway. Yen announced the news earlier this Saturday with the image of a clapboard that reads Caine and captioned the post, "Here we go".
The film is directed by Donnie Yen himself from a screenplay by Mattson Tomlin and Michael McGrale, on the basis of a draft by John Wick filmmaker Chad Stahelski, as well as the Keanu Reeves starrer's producers Erica Lee and Basil Iwanyk of Thunder Road Pictures. Yen's credits as a director include Legend of the Wolf, Shanghai Affairs, Ballistic Kiss, Protégé de la Rose Noire, Sakra, and The Prosecutor. The upcoming film also stars Rina Sawayama, known for her John Wick character, Akira.
According to reports, the film is set to continue the arc of the titular assassin following the events of John Wick: Chapter 4. Distributor Lionsgate describes it as a film that is "stylistically modeled on the uniquely designed action films that Yen helped make famous." It is produced by Iwanyk and Lee under their Thunder Road Pictures banner, alongside Stahelski of 87Eleven Entertainment, John Saunders and Reeves. Meanwhile, Yen serves as an executive producer as well.
Caine is one of the few upcoming John Wick projects. There is also a sequel series, titled John Wick: Under the High Table, a fifth film in the franchise and an animated series. Both the fifth film and the animation series will star Reeves, reprising his role as the iconic assassin.
