Donnie Yen has responded to the news that he’s been cast in John Wick 4. The martial arts legend, best known for starring in the Ip Man franchise and for films like Rogue One and Mulan, is set to play an old friend and ally assassin of Keanu Reeves’ John Wick. John Wick: Chapter 4 is currently scheduled for release in May of 2022, with John Wick: Chapter 5 set to follow in 2023.
No one could have predicted what John Wick would become when the first film released in 2014 on a budget of less than $30 million. Ideas of high-concept martial arts mania or star-studded team-ups seemed unlikely for what appeared at first glance to be just another routine action movie. Instead, John Wick completely revitalized Reeves’ career and refreshed the entire action genre for a new era, inspiring more recent films like Atomic Blonde and Polar. The series has also built a whole bizarre universe of assassin-driven lore through John Wick 2 and John Wick 3, opening the doors for more and more new characters to walk through.
The latest character to join that wild world of assassination will be played by Yen, a casting decision that’s been widely celebrated by fans of contemporary action films. After the official announcement came out, Yen responded with a coy post on Instagram, which featured a clip of a news article referencing his casting. Check out the full post below.
Just when it seemed like John Wick couldn’t get any more ridiculous, Yen’s casting promises that it will. Yen is one of the most beloved and respected action stars of the past two decades, and the idea of him taking down bad guys back-to-back with Reeves is incredibly exciting. John Wick has always excelled on the style of its action scenes, which feature Reeve’s mowing down countless lackeys in the flashiest and most brutal ways imaginable. Adding Yen into the mix feels like a perfect match.
It will be interesting to see how large Yen’s role in John Wick 4 actually is. The series has always focused primarily on the eponymous hero, but adding in another protagonist of similar importance could be a fun twist. Yen absolutely has both the star power and the clout to carry that responsibility, and there’s huge potential for bigger fights with him in the picture. Seeing Yen and Reeves team up in John Wick 4 should really be something special.
Source: Donnie Yen
