The Donnie Yen-led (and directed) Caine spin-off of the John Wick franchise is set to be a dream come true for fans of martial arts and Hong Kong action, with numerous martial arts stars perfect to join the spin-off. Yen first debuted in the John Wick universe in 2023’s John Wick: Chapter 4 as Caine, a blind, sword-wielding kung fu master and old friend of Keanu Reeves’ John Wick coerced into taking him down in order to save his daughter. Yen’s role in John Wick: Chapter 4 made Caine one of the breakout supporting characters of the John Wick franchise, leading to the Caine project getting the greenlight, though John Wick himself will not appear in Caine’s spin-off.
The reasoning for John Wick’s absence from Caine’s movie has been explained by John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski, who described Caine’s spin-off as “an ode to kung fu movies.” Stahelski’s description suggests that the Caine project could effectively be a Hong Kong martial arts action movie that happens to be produced by a Hollywood studio. Given Yen has built the bulk of his career in the Hong Kong action industry, what the Caine project is shaping up to be is certainly exciting for John Wick and Hong Kong action fans alike, especially since it can surely bring aboard numerous other martial arts stars, many of whom Yen could easily call up from Hong Kong or other Asian action industries. Here are 10 martial arts movie stars who would be perfect to include in Donnie Yen’s Caine spin-off in the John Wick universe.
1) Jackie Chan
“Legendary” doesn’t even scratch the surface of Jackie Chan’s career as the king of martial arts action-comedies with loads of gripping, death-defying stunts. Beginning his career as a stuntman (famously appearing a henchmen who has his neck broken by Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon), Jackie Chan would go on to become one of the titans of Hong Kong action movies with his unique blend of stunts, comedy, and kung fu (with plenty of broken bones along the way to show for it), with Chan later becoming equally popular in his Hollywood work in the Rush Hour, and Shanghai Noon movies along with other Western hits. Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen finally collaborated in 2003’s Shanghai Knights and Twins Effect II that same year, and a John Wick spin-off could be the perfect project to re-unite them with Chan likely appearing as an elder statesman of the High Table’s world.
2) Jet Li
Like Yen himself, Jet Li grew up as a true martial arts prodigy, practicing Wushu since the age of 8 and becoming an international champion, even performing for President Richard Nixon on the White House lawn as a youth. Li is also an icon of Hong Kong action through such martial arts classics as the Once Upon A Time in China franchise and Fist of Legend, along with Li’s Hollywood hits like Romeo Must Die, Kiss of the Dragon, and Unleashed. While Li has been semi-retired from moviemaking to focus on his philanthropic work, he still appears on-screen occasionally and has a few reported projects in the works (including an ensemble called Non-Stop with Don Lee, Tony Jaa, and Iko Uwais).
John Wick director Chad Stahelski previously name-dropped Li on his list of action movie legends he’d love to bring into the John Wick universe, and after Li and Yen’s previous on-screen duels in Once Upon A Time in China II and Hero, a reunion in the John Wick franchise could really be something special as their third collaboration.
3) Andy On
Andy On may not be a name immediately recognized by mainstream Western audiences, but those deep into the Hong Kong action scene have known him as a prominent and charismatic action movie presence. Hailing from Maine, On made his debut in 2001’s Black Mask II: City of Masks, and went on to tackle kung fu hero and villain roles alike in Hong Kong action hits like Invisible Target, True Legend, and Once Upon A Time in Shanghai.
More recently, On has become one of the most prolific action heroes in the ever more popular streaming-based Chinese action movie scene, really shining in films like Blind War, 100 Yards, and Hunt the Wicked. On also starred opposite Yen in 2013’s Special ID, the two going to war in a blazing MMA showdown, showing the potential On could bring to the John Wick universe and specifically to Yen’s Caine spin-off.
4) Shi Yan Neng
Many martial arts movie stars can lay claim to years of arduous martial arts training in their youth giving them the skills needed for on-screen action, but very few underwent their training in China’s legendary Shaolin Temple. Shi Yan Neng (a.k.a. Xing Yu) did exactly that for a decade before breaking into Hong Kong and mainland Chinese martial arts films, Yan Neng first earning recognition as the Coolie in 2004’s Kung Fu Hustle. Since then, Yan Neng has brought his genuine kung fu skills to movies like Fatal Contact, Shaolin, Iron Protector, and Striking Rescue, and even becoming the leading man in the outstanding kung fu epic The Wrath of Vajra and the action-comedy Kowloon Walled City.
Yan Neng also has a built-in working relationship with Donnie Yen, the two having worked together five times on Hong Kong martial arts hits including Dragon Tiger Gate, Flash Point, Ip Man, Bodyguards and Assassins, and Kung Fu Killer. With their history of collaborations already in place, Shi Yan Neng seems like exactly the kind of kung fu movie veteran Donnie Yen would call up for the Caine spin-off.
5) Xie Miao
A rising a martial arts star as an adult, Xie Miao (a.k.a. Mo Tse) began similarly to Jet Li as a child Wushu prodigy and champion competitor. Funnily enough, Xie Miao’s most widely recognized roles as a child actor saw him playing Jet Li’s son twice in New Legend of Shaolin and My Father is a Hero. Xie Miao would later build more success in the martial arts movie world upon reaching adulthood, tackling the role of Bruce Lee’s mentor Ip Man in Ip Man: The Awakening and starring in other major martial arts action movies like the Eye for an Eye films and Hunt the Wicked.
Xie Miao also anchors 2025’s highly anticipated Hong Kong martial arts action ensemble The Furious, which reportedly already has plans to grow into a franchise. In all, Xie Miao’s rising profile in the martial arts movie world and his spellbinding Wushu skills combined make him another strong candidate to join Donnie Yen’s Caine spin-off as either friend or foe to its title character.
6) Michelle Yeoh
Ask most Western audiences to name a female Hong Kong action star, and Michelle Yeoh is likely to be the first to spring to mind. Yeoh’s career in Hong Kong stretches all the way back to the late ’80s with hits like Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars, Yes Madam, and Magnificent Warriors, with Yeoh gaining international acclaim in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Yeoh was also among the first Hong Kong stars to successfully transition to Hollywood with her show-stealing role as the Bond girl Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies, while she gained a whole new level of acclaim for her performance in the 2022 multiverse sci-fi comedy Everything Everywhere All At Once. Yeoh also worked with Yen in 1994’s Wing Chun, and her combination of martial arts talent and on-screen charisma could also make Yeoh a fantastic candidate to bring into Caine’s corner of the John Wick franchise.
7) Jeeja Yanin
2008’s Chocolate marked on the film debut of Thai-born Tae Kwon Do champion Jeeja Yanin, and for a first-time leading lady, Yanin carried the action-packed movie with incredible ease in both her fight scenes and performance as the movie’s autistic heroine Zen. Yanin’s subsequent resume has included such martial arts actioners as Raging Phoenix, The Kick, Tom Yum Goong 2, and the 2019 ensemble Triple Threat. Yanin is also a key player in the aforementioned Hong Kong ensemble The Furious, which marks Yanin’s Hong Kong debut. With her talent for butt-kicking and weathering stunts of the ’80s Jackie Chan variety, Jeeja Yanin could splendidly embody an assassin in the John Wick universe, and Donnie Yen’s Caine spin-off could be just the doorway for her to enter the franchise through.
8) Sammo Hung
If there’s an elder statesman of Hong Kong action aside from Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung is surely he. First making an impact with his opening fight scene against Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, Sammo Hung has been a Hong Kong legend and then some for ages in everything from kung fu classics like Knockabout, Magnificent Butcher and Eastern Condors to modern action films like The Bodyguard and the 2024 Hong Kong monster hit Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (to say nothing of Hung’s almost innumerable action comedies alongside Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao).
Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung have also worked together plenty, the two delivering amazing action together in 2005’s Sha Po Lang and 2010’s Ip Man 2 (Hung also serving as action director on the first Ip Man). Though he made a stateside splash in the late ’90s with the television series Martial Law, Sammo Hung would be a relatively fresh face to Western audiences in joining the John Wick franchise, but with the Hong Kong-style action sandbox that Donnie Yen’s Caine spin-off promises to be, it would be the perfect entry point for Sammo Hung.
9) Joe Taslim
Going from Judo champion to martial arts action star is quite the transition from one career pinnacle to another, and Joe Taslim has done exactly that. First making an impact with his role in Gareth Evans’ 2012 action classic The Raid: Redemption, Joe Taslim sprung to international recognition quite swiftly with his subsequent appearances in Fast & Furious 6, 2018’s The Night Comes for Us, and the Bruce Lee-based martial arts Western series Warrior.
Taslim also entered the video game movie world with his role as Sub-Zero in 2021’s Mortal Kombat and metamorphosis into Noob-Saibot in 2025’s Mortal Kombat 2, with Taslim also making his own leap into the Hong Kong action industry in the aforementioned The Furious. Joe Taslim has consistently brought grit and power combined with amiable charm his action movie career, making him a natural to board Donnie Yen’s Caine spin-off as a new player in the John Wick universe.
10) Tony Jaa
In the early 2000’s, Tony Jaa blasted through the screen with an elbow and a knee in the faces of audiences around the world in his 2003 Muay Thai action blast Ong Bak: Muay Thai Warrior. Following that success up with two Ong Bak prequels and the two Tom Yum Goong films, Tony Jaa eventually made the leap to Western action films with Skin Trade, Furious 7, Triple Threat, and Jiu Jitsu. In addition, Jaa has also been equally prolific in Hong Kong, headlining 2015’s SPL 2: A Time for Consequences alongside Wu Jing and appearing in other Hong Kong and Chinese action films like Paradox and Striking Rescue.
Though Jaa and Yen have previously appeared together in the YouTube martial arts short film Gong Shou Dao and 2017’s xXx: Return of Xander Cage, neither capitalized on their talents by having them in a fight sequence as either foes or allies, an unrealized scenario that’s been begging to be rectified for years. The John Wick universe is exactly the kind of foundation to make that happen, and with Donnie Yen’s Caine spin-off, it could be one of the best pairings of martial arts movie legends the franchise has ever seen.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is now playing in theaters.
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