During the big studio and exhibitor event of CinemaCon in April, Lionsgate announced that action star Donnie Yen (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”) would be directing his “John Wick” spinoff, “Caine,” with a script from screenwriter Mattson Tomlin (“The Batman Part II”) as the Hong Kong-set pic has landed another “John Wick 4” actor.
Variety has now confirmed today that Japanese-British singer-turned-actress Rina Sawayama is returning as Akira Shimazu after an end-credit scene teased her pursuit of revenge after Caine killed her father Koji Shimazu (played by Hiroyuki Sanada) during a clash at the Osaka Continental. However, given how in-flux these “John Wick” projects are, it wasn’t automatic that Sawayama would end up in the shooting version of “Caine” until this casting update.
READ MORE: ‘John Wick’: Donnie Yen To Direct Hong Kong-Set ‘Caine’ Spinoff With Script From ‘The Batman Part II’ Writer [CinemaCon]
Another neat element is that Lionsgate is launching sales at the Cannes Film Market this month as the studio is likely seeking international partners.
“Most delighted to welcome Rina back into this new, exciting journey with us. It will be my pleasure and attempt to elevate her amazing character that left us mesmerized from ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’!” Yen said in a statement.
It’s unknown if Akira will indeed take on a main antagonist role or simply be one of many as Caine is expected to see his own hero’s journey in the form of a film highly influenced by the Hong Kong action/crime genres from notable names like John Woo, Jackie Chan, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam, Andrew Lau, and Alan Mak.
Yen isn’t a stranger to directing himself or action projects, having previously helmed movies like “The Prosecutor” and “Sakra.”
Tomlin, who is also writing Reeves and Justin Lin‘s “BRZRKR,” is working from a previous draft of the script by Robert Askins.
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While we can’t say if Keanu Reeves will show up as Wick in “Caine” like he does in “Ballerina” this June. But Lionsgate has announced “John Wick 5” is in active development with franchise director Chad Stahelski and Reeves returning. Making it extremely possible that Wick’s off-screen death was a possible fake-out, allowing him to do more cameos in these spinoffs, helping to cement their connective tissue.
“Caine” is shaping up nicely, and we’ll likely learn more casting additions with production said to be gearing up “soon.”
