In 2023, the fourth and (currently) final installment in the John Wick franchise introduced martial arts icon Donnie Yen as the blind assassin Caine, who quickly stole the show out from under even Keanu Reeves’ dog-loving hitman. While we await the Yen-led spin-off in the $1 billion franchise, a new action thriller could beat Caine to the punch as it introduces a trained killer that combines the world of Wick with the MCU vigilante Daredevil. And all with an added medicinal twist.
The blind action hero is a trope of the action genre that has been around for decades, harking back to samurai stories such as Zatoichi and popularized by Marvel with Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil. In fact, it’s such a well-established motif that Donnie Yen has done it twice, both in John Wick and the Star Wars prequel Rogue One. Now, it’s time for an all-new addition to the beloved archetype to emerge, with the upcoming action thriller The Healer introducing a man who was born to heal…but trained to kill.
Led by Rise of the Legend and The Great Wall star Eddie Peng, The Healer is set in a city ruled by shadows and follows a blind acupuncturist known only as “The Healer” (Peng), who lives quietly, using heightened senses and ancient techniques to heal the forgotten. Much like Mr. Wick, he was once a deadly weapon trained for violence, but he left his brutal past behind in search of peace and redemption.
But as so often happens in these situations, he is drawn back into a world of violence when a young boy under his protection is targeted by a ruthless gang. Armed with a lethal knowledge of the human body, he turns healing into a weapon, crippling enemies with surgical precision as he fights to save the boy. The Healer is currently in post-production, with a trailer and release date expected soon. In the meantime, the first poster has now been unveiled.
Highland Film Group/66cc
Co-starring Ewan Mitchell (House of the Dragon), Smylie Bradwell (The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping), Georgina Beedle (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice), and Jameela Jamil (The Good Place), The Healer already has no-nonsense action thriller carved all over it. Not least because, much like the John Wick franchise, The Healer also boasts a former stunt performer-turned-filmmaker as director, with Can Aydin (The Fall Guy, Thunderbolts) following in the footsteps of Baba Yaga creator Chad Stahelski in introducing his own one-man army.
Alongside the likes of John Wick and Daredevil, The Healer also continues a newly emerging trend of medical-infused action thrillers, with Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh’s upcoming The Surgeon having been hailed as “John Wick meets The Pitt,” while The Raid breakout Iko Uwais will lead MRI as a broken-down assassin who finds himself at the center of a siege while attending an appointment for the titular scan.