Donnie Yen has revealed that his John Wick spin-off, in which he will star and possibly direct, is currently in development.
The film will see Yen reprise his John Wick: Chapter 4 role as the blind hitman Caine, but further details such as the plot and additional casting are yet to be confirmed.
In a new interview with ComingSoon.net, Yen said of the project: “We are in the developing stage. I just had another interview with another interviewer. I wasn’t supposed to share this, but he told me he just had a talk with Chad [Stahelski], and Chad kind of spilled something to him. So I guess I’m okay to share a little bit. We are in a development stage, and we’ll see what happens. I believe in the timing and the fate, and they wanna do it. I’m up for it, and we’ll see what happens.”
In a separate interview with Collider, Yen also indicated that he is also in talks to direct the Caine film, noting that he feels a responsibility to do the franchise justice and not let down the fans.
“I think both the fans, as well as the studio, want this to happen, and we’ll see. I can only tell you that much. But yes, we are talking, and we are talking intimately. We’ll see what happens.
“At the same time, I hold responsibility as well as a pressure that I don’t want to ruin the franchise,” he added. “I try to do my best to bring something fresh to the franchise itself. I don’t want to bring down the expectations for the fans. I try to do my best, like always.”
Yen added that if he were to direct the film, it would be treated with the same level of meticulous care as the previous instalments.
“I have to flesh it out. I have a couple of ideas in my mind of how I would like the story to go. But we’ll see. I don’t want to give away too much because I don’t know if I’m in that position to give that away. But they’ve been very persistent, and they’ve been very passionate about me taking on this project.”
Yen also expressed his hope that John Wick director Chad Stahelski will be on hand to offer his guidance with the spin-off.
“He better be there! I want to make sure it’s going to be a lot of fun. My attempt is to try to make something that won’t disappoint the fans and the general audience.”
In December, Keanu Reeves played down the possibility of him starring in a fifth John Wick film, saying: “My knees are saying I can’t.” The actor will, however, make a cameo appearance in the upcoming prequel Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas.