One of John Wick’s best characters is getting a spin-off — with a very fitting director

If you’re looking to add a sense of legitimacy and an unmatched cool factor to your action franchise, you choose Donnie Yen. If you want to make the most of the legendary Hong Kong action star’s talents, hire him as director your action franchise. Leave it to the “John Wick” property to potentially combine the best of both worlds its upcoming spin-off, which centers on John Wick: Chapter 4’s scene-stealing super-cool assassin Jenna Kane.

This easily takes the title of the most exciting news of the day, please Collider. In a recent interview with the publication, Yen touted his work as director and star in his new film, The Prosecutor, which is set to open in select theaters later this month. But, naturally, the subject of “John Wick” came up. Yen went ahead and dropped a bombshell on interviewer Steve Weintraub, who said he heard directly from John Wick director Chad Stahelski that there were discussions to put Yen in the director’s chair. So what did the actor have to say? As he explained:

“It’s true. I think both the fans and the studio want it to happen and we’ll see (…) That’s all I can tell you. But yes, we’re talking, and we’ll talk closely, we’ll see what happens.”

For those who may not remember, the blind assassin Kane began the film as an antagonist on a reluctant mission to deliver Wick’s head on a platter … only to end it as an ally, completing one of the coolest arcs of any character in the entire franchise. A post-credits scene featuring Kane and revenge-hungry assassin Akira (played by pop sensation Rino Sawayama) seemed to be the start of a potential standalone film. Now we’ve got our most significant update yet — and one that almost single-handedly makes the project even more of a must-see event.

While we wait to see if there will be a fifth John Wick movie or not (at the time of the last update it appeared to be “under development” although it hasn’t changed much since then), fans can at least look forward to another long-awaited film that may become a reality. If these talks continue and lead to an actual deal, it’s safe to say we’re in for the most exciting installment of the franchise yet. There was already a prequel to the streaming series centered around Ian McShane’s enigmatic hotel manager Winston Scott (I reviewed “The Continental” for /Film and it was very, uh, not good) and there’s another spinoff coming later this year in the form of Ana de Armas’ John Wick: Ballerina . But both of them pale in comparison to the Kane movie starring Yen, if you ask me.

What is any the excitement surrounding this mystery spinoff certainly speaks to that how much effort Donnie Yen put into the character of Kane and how warmly he was received by the audience after the release of “Chapter Four”. In an interview with Collider, He went on to describe how he’s well aware of the pressure of adding to something as beloved as the John Wick movies, and has no intention of letting anyone down:

“(…) I have the responsibility and also the pressure that I don’t want to destroy the franchise. I’m trying to do my best to bring something fresh to the franchise itself. I don’t want to disappoint the fans, I’m trying to do my best as always.”

Fans looking to experience Yen’s directorial prowess can check out their fair share of Chinese-language films from the late 1990s and early 2000s, but one title to keep an eye on will be the upcoming The Prosecutor , which Yen claims is “really shows what kind of director I am.” This film will be released in limited theaters on January 10, 2025. Stay tuned to /Film for more news!