One year after being announced, a new John Wick spinoff is set to begin filming.
After the success of four John Wick movies starring Keanu Reeves as the titular assassin, the franchise expanded further in 2025 with Ballerina, a spinoff movie centered on a different assassin, Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas). This is only the beginning of the fictional universe’s expansions, though, with a fifth John Wick movie in the works, along with an animated prequel film.
Now, Deadline reports that another spinoff, the untitled Caine movie announced at CinemaCon 2025, will begin production in April. It features Donnie Yen reprising his role as the blind assassin Caine, set after the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, while Rina Sawayama also comes back to play Akira. Yen is directing the film with a screenplay written by Mattson Tomlin and Michael McGrale. Chad Stahelski, who directed all four John Wick movies, is attached as a producer, as are Yen, Reeves, and franchise veterans Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee. Check out statements about the project below from Adam Fogelson, chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, and from Yen:
Adam Fogelson: It became clear after John Wick: Chapter 4 that fans were particularly intrigued by Caine, which made his story the most natural next chapter of the franchise. It’s truly exciting to be embarking on a strategic partnership with Donnie—he has the vision to bring to life this extension of the John Wick universe in a way that’s authentic to his own signature style, flair, and expertise as a filmmaker.
Donnie Yen: What drew me to Caine is the contradiction. He carries love, responsibility, and sacrifice in a world built on consequence. That creates a very different kind of action hero. This film is an opportunity to push the genre forward. My goal is to create the most definitive martial arts-infused action film ever made, one that honors what audiences love about John Wick while bringing a new emotional depth and visual language to the story. As both director and actor, I’m excited to shape this chapter in a way that reflects everything I’ve learned over decades in action cinema, while building something that feels entirely new.
As indicated in these comments, Yen has a long history as an actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stunt choreographer. He is the star of the Ip Man movies, was in Once Upon A Time in China II with Jet Li, and played the blind Guardian of the Whill Chirrut Îmwe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the last of which grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. His directing credits include Legend of the Wolf, Ballistic Kiss, Shanghai Affairs, and more recently, The Prosecutor.
By the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, Caine is freed from the High Table and goes back to Paris to be with his daughter again, but Akira is shown to be pursuing him after he spares her life but kills her father, Shimazu Koji (Hiroyuki Sanada), earlier in the movie. The spinoff film will explore what happens next for Caine as a new type of action hero and in Akira’s quest for vengeance, all while bringing more martial arts to the storytelling of the beloved action franchise.
Donnie Yen as Caine in John Wick: Chapter 4
In the John Wick timeline, Ballerina is set between the third and fourth movies, so the Caine film is poised to be the furthest point explored in the franchise’s chronology, although this could change once more details are established about the in-development John Wick: Chapter 5.
With a worldwide total of $447.3 million, John Wick: Chapter 4 was the franchise’s highest-grossing movie yet. While there are many factors that can be attributed to this success, Yen’s portrayal of Caine and his global popularity definitely helped, and it has the potential to make the upcoming spinoff another box office hit. This would be a welcome development after Ballerina underperformed, grossing $137.2 million worldwide against a reported budget of $90 million.
Movie
Worldwide Box Office
John Wick (2014)
$86 million
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
$174.3 million
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)
$327.7 million
John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
$447.3 million
Ballerina (2025)
$137.2 million
As for the writers of the new John Wick spinoff about Caine, Tomlin wrote The Batman – Part II script with Matt Reeves, an upcoming adaptation of the comic book BRZRKR written by Reeves, and Netflix’s Terminator Zero. McGrale’s credits include Netflix’s The Rip, the Kevin Bacon-led series The Following, and CSI: Miami.
Created by
Derek Kolstad
Latest TV Show
The Continental