Here's Who Donnie Yen Is Playing In John Wick 4

"John Wick 4" is bringing a proven action star into the fold. Fans of the popular action franchise have waited over two years for progress to truly begin on its highly-anticipated fourth installment. The third "John Wick" film — titled "John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum" — hit theaters back in May 2019 and was a resounding critical and financial success. The blockbuster sequel received mostly positive reviews from critics upon its release — it currently holds an 89% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and earned over $327 million at the worldwide box office (via BoxOfficeMojo) — becoming the franchise's highest-grossing installment to date. But despite the overwhelming success of "Parabellum," development has moved surprisingly slowly on its sequel.

Fortunately, work on "John Wick 4" is finally starting to gain some traction. The film is set to begin production sometime this summer and will reportedly shoot on location in countries like Japan, France, and Germany. As a result, the casting announcements for "John Wick 4" are now starting to roll in, including the recently announced casting of Donnie Yen.

According to Deadline, "IP Man" star Donnie Yen has officially been cast in "John Wick 4." The outlet reports that Yen will play an old ally of Keanu Reeves' John Wick — one who apparently has a similar past and "many of the same enemies" as the franchise's titular hero. Other details about Yen's character, including his name, have not yet been announced at this time. The actor's casting also comes just a little over a week after Japanese-British musician Rina Sawayama was cast in a lead role in the film. However, unlike Yen, all details about Sawayama's role are being kept under wraps for the time being.

Yen, for his part, should feel right at home in an action franchise like "John Wick." The actor is one of the most well-known and recognizable action stars working today, thanks to his work in films like "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," the "IP Man" franchise, and countless other action titles. With all that in mind, assuming that Yen's character and Reeves' Wick are still on good terms when they cross paths in "John Wick 4," he should make for a powerful ally for John to have on his side in the film. That's good news, since — based on the ending of "John Wick: Chapter 3" — John really is going to need all the friends he can get moving forward.