John Wick: Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski explains why Keanu Reeves, after seeing Donnie Yen in action, asked for some last-minute changes to their big first fight scene. The fourth installment in the popular action franchise sees Reeves return as the eponymous hitman to take down a new enemy in the form of Bill Skarsgård’s Marquis. The John Wick: Chapter 4 cast features a number of other newcomers, including Yen as Caine, a blind assassin tasked with killing Wick.
In an interview with CinemaBlend, Stahelski reveals that John’s first fight against Caine in the Osaka Continental was originally supposed to be quite different. After seeing Yen’s fighting ability first-hand, however, Stahelski says that Reeves wanted to make some changes. Check out Stahelski’s full comment below:
“One of the best things in my career was choreographing with Donnie, working moves, physically him and I working out a sequence. I switch into stunt guy mode and get to actually touch hands with Donnie. It’s pretty amazing, and that’s Donnie Yen. He’s that fast. It’s freaky fast.
“In fact, we adjusted the choreography ’cause we were choreographing one way, and then Keanu came up to me literally after the first piece of the first day of the first time they choreographed going, ‘Yeah, we gotta change this because John Wick can’t hang with this guy.’ I swear to you, that’s why it changed in the museum room.
“We had a different piece and Keanu just came up and went, ‘This guy’s like… No, we gotta definitely show this guy makes John Wick nervous ‘cause Donnie is so quick.’ So we didn’t want to bring Donnie down; we wanted to raise him up as much as we could. And Keanu’s like, ‘Fuck this, I’m bugging out. I’m gonna run behind and we’re gonna make this hide and seek.’ And we thought that was a genius idea.”
Donnie Yen Was The Perfect Addition To John Wick 4
The John Wick franchise has always featured a variety of exciting supporting characters, but the most recent sequel takes this to an entirely new level. Yen, who is best known for the Ip Man franchise, is one of the foremost martial artists working in action cinema today. Before Caine is even seen on screen, then, Yen’s resume alone hypes the strength of his new character.
Related: How A John Wick 4 Fight Scene Pays Tribute To 2 Donnie Yen Movies
Instead of just making Caine a straight villain, John Wick: Chapter 4 takes the time to show him being forced out of retirement to protect his daughter. The fact that he and Wick used to be friends also makes Caine’s task harder and adds another layer of nuance to the character. Making Caine blind is yet another fun twist that speaks to his abilities as an assassin, with Yen’s character able to meet or exceed John’s own skill level even without the power of sight.
Caine being blind also adds a new dimension to the movie’s fight scenes. The John Wick: Chapter 4 fight in the kitchen, for example, is incredibly inventive, with Caine using motion-activated sound cues to know where to shoot. The fact that Reeves’ character is actually somewhat afraid of Caine during their first showdown also makes their eventual team-up during the John Wick: Chapter 4 stair fight even more satisfying to watch.
