‘John Wick 4’: Donnie Yen Is the First Time Keanu Reeves ‘Fights Someone He Can Lose to’
John Wick 4 continues to expand the world of Keanu Reeves‘ title role. As a result, new characters and dangers will join the adventure in the fourth installment. John Wick 4 producer Basil Iwanyk talked about Donnie Yen and his exceptional presence in the movie. It’s looking like he will be Wick’s most intimidating and powerful foe yet, whose fighting abilities are something the world hasn’t seen in the franchise up to this point.
‘John Wick 4’ introduces Donnie Yen, along with more supporting cast
John Wick 4 brings back several familiar faces, including Reeves, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Laurence Fishburne, and Saïd Taghmaoui. Wick continues to look over his shoulder as a result of his actions over the last few films. He knows that soon, he will have to face the music. However, new names are about to join the fray, including some foes that the seemingly unkillable man will have difficulty taking down.
Distributor Lionsgate has yet to announce official plot details or new character descriptions. However, the full cast list is available. John Wick 4 introduces Yen as Caine, Rina Sawayama as Akira, Shamier Anderson as Tracker, Bill Skarsgård as Marquis, Hiroyuki Sanada as Shimazu, and Scott Adkins as Killa.
‘John Wick 4’ makes Donnie Yen the first character to potentially beat Keanu Reeves
Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman’s They Shouldn’t Have Killed His Dog speaks with a wide variety of folks involved in the movie franchise. John Wick 4 producer Basil Iwanyk had high praise for Yen and his presence in the sequel. However, its label as more of a “proper” movie also made it easy for Iwanyk to separate it from the previous installments.
“John Wick 4 feels more like a proper movie than the other ones,” Iwanyk said. “If you really break them down, it’s like, ‘What’s the plot? Who are the bad guys? I’m so confused.’ We’ve never given John—except for Mark Dacascos in 3—an equal to fight.”
Iwanyk continued: “And Donnie Yen … man, you should see the dailies. His speed, I’ve never seen anything like it. You think we ramp these things up? He is just from another planet. So for the first time, it feels like we have John fighting someone he can lose to. That was great!”
The sneak peek teases high-octane action
Yen isn’t the focus of the John Wick 4 sneak peek, but it’s clear that audiences are in for a whole lot of action. The teaser plants the seed about where this franchise could end. It’s clear that The Table is relentless and will never allow Wick to rest. Nevertheless, Wick continues to train through the sneak peek for what’s to come.
The rest of the John Wick 4 teaser shows quick cuts of various high-octane action stunts. Everything from a fight scene in the middle of traffic to plenty of weapon play filmed in the John Wick style that audiences can’t get enough of.
