The John Wick writer-director Chad Stahelski reveals whether Keanu Reeves’ ᴀssᴀssin will be in Donny Yen’s Caine spinoff. Introduced in John Wick: Chapter 4, Caine is a highly skilled ᴀssᴀssin who was forced by Vincent Bisset de Gramont to kill his old friend John Wick. In the post-credits scenes, Caine was attacked by Koji Shimazu’s daughter, Akira Shimazu, on his way to meet his daughter. The project was confirmed to be in development in the summer of 2024 and is expected to go into production later this year.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stahelski opened up about whether the Baba Yaga will make an appearance. The franchise’s creator confirmed that John Wick will not be in the Caine spinoff. He further explained that with the project being “an ode to kung fu movies,” focusing on Yen’s character and his world would allow them to stay true to the sub-genre. Read his comment below:

The Donny Yen spinoff doesn’t have the John Wick character. It’s got Donny Yen and it’s an ode to kung fu movies. If John Wick 1 was about Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin, this is about Chow Yun-fat, John Woo and Wong Kar-wai. So I think that one is a little easier to get it across to audiences because it’s in a sub-genre of what we love.

What This Means For The Caine Spinoff

The Caine Spinoff Easily Separates Itself From Other John Wick Films

John Wick: Chapter 4‘s ending essentially sets up the Caine spinoff. Previously, it was confirmed that Rina Sawayama would reprise her role as Akira in the upcoming movie that explores their confrontation after the events in the fourth installment, in which Caine killed Akira’s father, who chose to fight despite Caine offering him a way out. Stahelski, who serves as a producer on the spinoff, sheds some light on the fighting styles in the project, clarifying that the Yen movie will be a very different entry from the previous John Wick movies.

Reeves’ тιтular ᴀssᴀssin was supposedly ᴅᴇᴀᴅ at the end of Chapter 4. With John Wick 5 moving in a new direction and telling a different story away from the High Table, it could explain why the Caine spinoff doesn’t feature his appearance. It’s also possible that the upcoming spinoff might take place in a very different physical location from the sequel.

Our Take On John Wick’s Absence In The Caine Spinoff

It Might Not Be A Bad Thing

It’s hard to imagine Reeves not being in a John Wick project, even if it’s a spinoff. One of the many things that made Yen’s Caine so intriguing is his shared past with the protagonist, but it sounds like the upcoming movie won’t be diving too deep into the past. Instead, it would focus on the main conflict between Caine and Akira in the aftermath of John Wick: Chapter 4.

Stahelski’s comment also sheds some light on the action aspect of the Caine spinoff. With Yen being a long-celebrated action hero in the genre, committing to the subgenre could allow him to shine. Recently, Ballerina, which is in theaters this week, has surprised audiences and critics with inventive action sequences, and since the core of the John Wick franchise is action, the pivot might be a good thing.

Source: THR