Warning: spoilers ahead for John Wick: Chapter 4.
John Wick: Chapter 4 introduces many new characters, including the incredibly skilled assassin Caine, but the most interesting thing about Donnie Yen’s character is his name. Though the fourquel could potentially be John’s last movie, given the shocking John Wick 4 ending, the series is still hard at work when it comes to world-building, and with so much world-building in John Wick: Chapter 4, it seems like the franchise is just getting started. The movie introduces a nameless vagrant who responds to Nobody, and a vengeful assassin named Akira, both of whom will likely return, but most interesting of all is the one who kills Baba Yaga, Caine.
Caine has almost as much screen time as the titular assassin in the Chad Stahelski-directed John Wick: Chapter 4, and he and John go way back. John seemingly has a closer relationship with Caine than anyone else in the franchise. The two even team-up against other assassins when they should be trying to kill each other. In the final act, however, John sacrifices himself by letting Caine shoot him. John does this so that Caine can see his daughter again, and so that he can finally rest in peace with his wife, Helen. While it might not be obvious, Caine’s name cleverly foreshadowed John’s death.
Why Is Donnie Yen’s John Wick: Chapter 4 Character Called Caine
It might seem safe to assume that Caine’s name is simply a play on the fact that the blind character uses a cane to move around. This would certainly make sense given how theatrical and over-the-top his knife-cane is. Caine slaughters countless enemies with the walking stick, giving John’s pencil trick a run for its money. However, the character’s name and reliance on a cane is a coincidence, and it covers up his name’s real meaning. Caine’s name is a reference to the Bible’s Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve’s first two sons, who become shepherds and make sacrifices to God.
Just as Cain killed Abel out of jealousy when God favored Abel’s offering over his, Caine killed John. To make the reference more obvious, Caine called John his brother when they were speaking in the Paris church. Given that so many different John Wick spinoffs are being discussed at Lionsgate, it appears likely that Caine will return, especially after Donnie Yen confirmed John Wick spinoff talks had taken place. If that happens, Caine’s story could continue the biblical parable. God condemned Cain to a life of wandering, but Cain built a city and led a group of descendants. No John Wick spinoff sounds more epic than Caine leading his followers in an all-out war.
Caine Originally Had A Much More Stereotypical Asian Name
Even though Caine’s name expertly foreshadows John Wick: Chapter 4’s ending, it was not the character’s name in the original script. Yen explained that Caine had a more stereotypical Asian name. The actor recalled, “The name was Shang or Chang. Why does he always have to be called Shang or Chang? Why can’t he have a normal name? Why do you have to be so generic?” On the surface, calling a blind man Caine sounds even worse, but the biblical parable gives the name a satisfying deeper meaning. Ultimately, it was Yen who encouraged Stahelski to change the character’s name, and it could not have worked out better for the story.
