John Wick: Chapter 4 director Chad Stahelski reveals that he originally envisioned Jackie Chan as one of the new characters, but the actor who ended up with the role made the character even better. Released earlier this year to rave reviews, the fourth installment in the hit action franchise sees Keanu Reeves return as the titular hitman for even more balletic action. To complement Wick’s journey in the new sequel, the John Wick: Chapter 4 cast includes a host of newcomers, including Donnie Yen as blind assassin Caine.

As John Wick 5 remains up in the air, Stahelski recently sat down for an interview with Collider in which he reveals that he originally had Chan in mind for the role of Caine. While Chan would ultimately not be able to participate, the director reveals that the character he had written actually became far more interesting after Yen became involved. Check out Stahelski’s full comment below:

“I spent a lot more time with Jackie Chan, so while writing the script, I had Jackie in mind as an older blind swordsman kind of guy. You can kind of picture the old man with the cane and the whole thing like that.

“And because of other things very early on, Jackie couldn’t do it due to scheduling, and COVID had just started. It kind of messed with everything, everyone’s schedule, so we just kept developing, developing, developing. Cut to months and months later, the script had changed so much, the story had changed so much, and my idea of what the character should be kind of changed.

“I’ve always wanted to work with Donnie, so I called up Donnie, and, to be very fair to Donnie, I called up Donnie, and we had this chat, and I told him the story about how it was originally written for a much older character to do this.

“And Donnie, who’s incredibly forward and blunt, goes, ‘Look, I love your movies, but I’ve been a blind swordsman before. I’ve been the Rogue One and all the other stuff.’ He’s like, ‘I’ve been that guy before. Why do I have to be this old guy that stumbles around like this?’ I’m like, ‘Well, you know…I don’t know, you’re blind?’”

“He’s like, ‘Well, why can’t I be cool?’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’ He’s like, ‘That’s not cool. I wanna be John Wick. John Wick is cool. Why can’t it be John Wick but blind and cool?’ And it just hit me, and then I called Donnie back the next day.

“Donnie and I both pulled all these pictures of Bruce Lee in the skinny tie and the suit and stuff. He’s like, ‘No, dude,’ he’s like, ‘Caine should be the coolest dude in this movie with the sunglasses and the stuff.’ Donnie literally built that character, and I’m like, ‘Donnie, this is awesome. This is what I like.’

“So look, I’m a huge fan of Donnie. You gotta remember, Donnie’s like Keanu; he’s a director, a producer, a writer, and an actor, so he sees things from a lot of different directions. So the fact that he was interested, and not only was he interested in the property and in the films, but he is interested in working with Keanu and I in a collaborative way. Once we knew it was okay to create and give his ideas and work them into it, it was one of the best relationships I’ve had with a cast member in development ever.”

Donnie Yen’s Caine Is A John Wick 4 Highlight

Reeves’ performance as Wick is decidedly muted and one-note, with the character speaking relatively few lines and mostly just remaining this absolute force for death and destruction throughout the four films. The franchise, then, relies on colorful and eccentric supporting characters to flesh out its world and provide levity, depth, and flavor. Caine certainly does this.

While John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum introduced an antagonist who admired Wick as a fan with Zero (Mark Dacascos), Caine serves as something of an equal to Wick. The two were revealed to have been friends in the past, and there’s a clear sense of respect between them. This respect adds a sense of reluctance to their fights throughout the film, which is further complimented by the fact that Caine is only really back in the game because his daughter is under threat, introducing an entirely new kind of antagonism into the franchise.

The history between Wick and Caine results in an uneasy truce between them toward the John Wick: Chapter 4 ending, which leads to one of the film’s standout sequences as the pair fights their way up a staircase in Paris. While a blind assassin would have been interesting enough as an antagonist, choices regarding Caine’s backstory, motivation, and appearance make him far more intriguing. Evidently, Yen had a big hand in crafting the character, and John Wick: Chapter 4 is all the better for it.