If you’re a fan of martial arts and the John Wick-verse, we’ve got good news and great news for you.
The good news is that Caine, the mysterious blind assassin played by Donnie Yen in the franchise, is getting his own spinoff. The even better news is that Donnie Yen will also be working behind the camera this time around. Lionsgate, the studio behind John Wick, announced that Yen will be the movie’s director at Cinemacon last week.
And the best part of all? It was the legend’s extensive martial arts knowledge that scored him the gig.
Here’s everything we know so far about Donnie Yen’s next step in the Wick world.
Who is Donnie Yen in the John Wick movies?
Donnie Yen plays Caine, a blind assassin with extensive martial arts skills.
Caine makes his first appearance in the Wick franchise in 2023’s John Wick: Chapter 4. He begins the film as a reluctant antagonist to Keanu Reeves’s titular hero. The pair are old friends, but the retired assassin is forced back into action when The High Table’s Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont (Bill Skarsgård) threatens his family. If Caine doesn’t kill John, The Marquis will murder his daughter. As the story progresses, though, Caine’s allegiances start to shift.
According to the movie’s director, Chad Stahelski, Yen was responsible for a lot of his character’s development and unique style.
“I needed him to be a frenemy to John. I needed him to motivate John. I needed him to kill Hiroyuki [Sanada]’s character Koji, so that it initiates this dilemma. I write what I need them to do. And then I come in with the cast and we work the dialogue and physicality of it all,” Stahelski told Inverse in 2023.
Yen, who had already played a blind martial artist in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story—and invented a whole new martial art for that character—knew that he wanted to try something different this time around.
“Donnie was like, ‘I’ve done the woe-is-me blind man before,’” the director continued. “After the first week of riffing ideas, he’s like, ‘F*** it, I just want to be the coolest guy in your movie. I’m gonna come looking like Bruce Lee meets Chow Yun-Fat, A Better Tomorrow meets The Killer. F*** being blind. Not only did he not lose his eyes, he gave his eyes. That’s how bada** this guy is. I’m the blind version of John Wick.’”
What is Donnie Yen’s Martial Arts Background?
Donnie Yen is a self-described mixed martial artist who has experience in Tai Chi, Taekwondo, Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido, Boxing, Kickboxing, Judo, wrestling, and more. He also has an extensive background in Wushu. As a teenager, he spent two years training in the art at the Beijing Shichahai Sports School. He even met another young up and comer named Jet Li during his time there. Yen went on to apply those skills to a competitive Wushu career and international movie stardom.
Now he’s applying that education and experience to his work behind the camera, too.
Has Donnie Yen Directed Movies Before?
Yen started his career behind the camera back in 1994 as the uncredited co-director of an action flick called Asian Cop: High Voltage. Yen also starred in the film. Although acting and stunt work remained his focus after that, he has returned to directing a number of times over the years. His most recent efforts are a Kung Fu film called Sakrat that was released in 2023 and an action thriller called The Prosecutor that came out last year.
For Yen, directing appears to be another outlet for his incredible martial arts talent. The decades that he’s spent performing his own intense and innovative fight sequences and choreographing them for others has given him a unique insight into how movement can be captured on camera. And he’s putting it to good use in his films.
Why is Donnie Yen directing the John Wick spinoff?
Between his unique background and the amazing ideas he’s already contributed to the franchise, Yen was the perfect choice to direct his character’s next chapter.
“From the moment Chad and Donnie pitched the idea of a Donnie Yen-style action film in the mode of John Wick, I was all in,” Lionsgate exec Adam Fogelson told the Hollywood Reporter at the start of the month. “Donnie is not only an incredible, charismatic star, but a smart, cinematic director who knows how to deliver massively entertaining action for a global audience. We’re thrilled that he’s in the director’s chair to tell Caine’s story.”
“The John Wick films have set an immensely high standard for action filmmaking and I greatly appreciate Lionsgate giving me the opportunity to further elevate the franchise,” Yen added. “I am both thrilled and deeply inspired to make this happen.”
What is the John Wick spinoff about?
Everyone involved in the movie has been pretty tightlipped about the plot so far. But from what little they have said, it sounds like the Caine film will be a continuation of current storylines as opposed to a prequel or origin story.
When we last saw Caine, he was happily reuniting with his daughter in Paris in a post-credit tag. But it was clear that their peace would be short-lived as audiences were treated to a glimpse of Koji’s daughter, Shimazu Akira (Rina Sawayama), holding a knife and looking for revenge. Maybe we’ll see what happens next when Caine’s film starts shooting later this year.
