Keanu Reeves fans are practically on the verge of soiling themselves after Chad Stahelski’s John Wick: Chapter 4 dropped another heart-pumping trailer, but we’re already anticipating the show will be stolen by the leading man’s fellow cast members Donnie Yen and Hiroyuki Sanada.
Any production lucky enough to cast one of the names outlined above is generally a good time. The fact that both fight flick veterans have gotten involved with this one, however, is a promise we can expect legitimate fireworks.
In Donnie Yen – who portrays Caine – you have a man who redefined modern Hong Kong action cinema, changing the game with the likes of SPL: Killzone, Flashpoint, and establishing an entire screen universe in itself with Ip Man; before charming western audiences with appearances in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, XXX: Return of Xander Cage, as well as Disney’s most recent run at Mulan.
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In Hiroyuki Sanada – who portrays Shimazu – you have a man who has quite literally been preparing to be an action star his entire life. Similar to Yen, the Tokyo native has trained in martial arts since childhood and made his first appearance on screens all the way back in 1966 with Game of Chance (浪曲子守唄). Along the way, he also made a few pit stops in Hollywood, namely via The Last Samurai, Rish Hour 3, The Wolverine, Avengers: Endgame, Mortal Kombat, and most recently, David Leitch’s Bullet Train opposite Brad Pitt.
Now, they’re set to clash.
“[Hiroyuki Sanada] has a moment with Donnie Yen. Yes, he does,” John Wick: Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski recently told Collider.
“I mean, when you have Hiroyuki Sanada and Donnie Yen going at it, it’s always fun. When you have guys that come from the action genre world, and they both love to act, it’s funny… they all have that similar thread. They just don’t want to tread on, they don’t want to be trope-y.”
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“They want to try something new. They’re very brave.”
“It’s not falling back into the same, ‘Let’s just do the style I’m good at.’ Hiroyuki is used to the Japanese way of doing things, very precise. And you have Donnie that’s really the epitome of Hong Kong action of, ‘Let’s just be great and make it up on the day of, and get the energy.’ So to put them together and to find a little organic mix was really fun.”
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And by the sounds of it, both heavy hitters had an absolute blast getting to collaborate.
Stahelski added: “They had a good time. I think the respect was there, and super courteous to each other, and literally just, we had all our grand ideas of choreography and stuff, and then it comes down to two guys just doing it really well. And you watch, and you’re like, ‘Oh yeah, okay, I’m going to shut up now. Let you guys do your thing.’”
Catch legendary Hiroyuki Sanada facing off against the iconic Donnie Yen in John Wick: Chapter 4 on March 23rd of 2023 (and check out the brand new trailer above + synopsis below).
Johnathan "John" Wick / Jardani Jovanovich (Keanu Reeves) takes on his most lethal adversaries yet in the upcoming fourth instalment of the series. With the price on his head ever increasing, Wick takes his fight against the High Table global as he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld, from New York to Paris to Osaka to Berlin
