IN the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4, martial arts star Donnie Yen will be making his debut in the film’s as the blind assassin Caine.
In a recent interview with GQ magazine, Yen made it clear that the name and appearance of his character was initially different, which were changed after he stepped in by calling out the film’s script for including Asian stereotypes.
“The name was Shang or Chang,” Yen said.
“Why can’t he have a normal name? Then the wardrobe again – oh, mandarin collars. Why is everything so generic? This is a John Wick movie. Everybody’s supposed to be cool and fashionable”.
The film’s director, Chad Stahelski, listened to Yen’s criticism and agreed to modify the character.
Yen was then able to redesign the character as an homage to Bruce Lee.
This is not the first time Yen has played a role in un-stereotyping a Hollywood tentpole.
The initial concept for his Chirrut Imwe in Disney’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was as a stereotypical martial artist.
After making his criticisms known to the creative team, Chirrut was overhauled in the script to have more comedic beats, while Yen was given opportunities to improvise jokes during filming.
John Wick: Chapter 4 opens in Malaysian theatres on March 23.
Watch the official trailer for the film below:
