‘John Wick’ Universe: Donnie Yen to Direct Spinoff Centered on Blind Assassin Caine

The John Wick spinoff starring action legend Donnie Yen has found its director: action legend Donnie Yen.

Yen was already starring in the Lionsgate feature, reprising his role of the formidable blind assassin known as Caine. Now, the action star and filmmaker known for Hong Kong marital arts movies such as the Ip Man series, will step behind the camera to direct the project, the studio announced at its presentation at Cinemacon Tuesday.

The studio also said that Mattson Tomlin, writer of the upcoming The Batman Part II and Netflix’s adaptation of the Keanu Reeves-created comic book BRZRKR, has joined to write the project. The previous draft of the screenplay for the spinoff was written by Robert Askins.

Lionsgate is hoping to begin production later this year.

Producing the feature are Wick franchise producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee of Thunder Road as well as Chad Stahelski, the director of the Wick films, via his 87Eleven Entertainment banner.

In addition to starring and directing, Yen will serve as an executive producer on the project.

“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,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson. “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.”

Yen may be best known to North American audiences for his memorable turns in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, and Disney’s live-action take on Mulan. But his work in Hong Kong movies spans several decades, with movies such as Flashpoint and Ip Man crossing over to become international hits.

He also founded his own production company and worked on action choreography for films such as Blade II, and began directing. He proved to be a triple threat, directing, acting, and producing movies such as The Prosecutor and the period wuxia film Sakr.   

One of the goals for the new feature will be to have action sequences that are stylistically modeled on the uniquely designed movies that Yen helped make into hits. 

“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,” stated Yen. “I am both thrilled and deeply inspired to make this happen.”

Plot details for the spinoff are being kept behind the glasses, but it will continue the story of the formidable blind assassin who was forced against his will to kill Wick. Now freed from his obligations to the crime lord group known as the High Table, Caine will face new challenges.

The Caine feature will be the second Wick spinoff. The first is Ballerina, featuring Ana de Armas as an assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma, the crime group whose name translates to the Russian Gypsies. The movie opens June 6.

Yen is repped by Independent Artist Group, Yorn Levine, and Cissy Wang at Bullet Films. Tomlin is repped by CAA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, SSML and Goodman, Genow.