The Donnie Yen-led John Wick spinoff everyone was waiting for is officially happening
No High Table, but still plenty of problems.
It feels like John Wick: Chapter 4 being the final chapter (for now) of the Keanu Reeves-led saga only accelerated the expansion of the universe surrounding it. We're still waiting for Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas, yet a new spinoff starring Donnie Yen has just been announced, and we're automatically excited for it.
Via Deadline, we've learned of the official plans for the follow-up of sorts to the fourth John Wick movie that most fans were eagerly awaiting after that killer post-credits scene. Plot details are hidden away, but we do know it'll follow Caine after the events of Chapter 4, as he's now free from obligations to the High Table... but is being hunted down by Akira, who wants revenge for the death of her father.
"From the moment Donnie Yen appeared on screen in John Wick: Chapter 4, he captivated audiences and created an authentic, emotional connection that left an indelible mark and had fans asking for more," said Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. "Caine is an incredible character with a haunted past, and I am excited to return to the role," added Yen, who also highlighted the "character, story, and emotion" behind some of John Wick's biggest players.
A director hasn't been recruited yet, but the script is being written by Robert Askins, "the Tony-nominated writer of the play Hand to God, who has also worked on such series as The Umbrella Academy and The Son." That's not a bad resume, so thankfully it'll land closer to the quality of the mainline movies (since we haven't seen Ballerina yet) instead of that Continental limited series everyone's trying to forget. By the way, there's another TV series in development as we speak.
Lionsgate is aggressively doubling down on the franchise potential of the John Wick universe, but it's just a matter of time before we have too much of a good thing and/or quality slumps. For now, however, I'm personally excited as hell to see more of Caine kicking butt, as he was arguably the coolest dude in a movie full of cool dudes.