The cast of John Wick 4 continues to take shape. Just recently, it was announced that Japanese-British pop singer Rina Sawayama had signed on to appear alongside returning star Keanu Reeves in the anticipated action movie sequel. Per Deadline, the movie has found its next major player, as actor and martial artist Donnie Yen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Mulan) has also been cast in a prominent role as an "old friend of Reeves' super assassin John Wick, who shares his same history and many of the same enemies."

"We are very lucky to have Donnie Yen join the franchise," said director Chad Stahelski in a statement. "I am looking forward to working with him in this exciting new role."

Producer Basil Iwanyk added: "Donnie Yen will bring a vibrant and powerful energy to the franchise. We were determined to bring him on board to John Wick 4 and are thrilled for the opportunity to have such a major talent to collaborate with Keanu."

John Wick 4 is produced by Ilwanyk, Stahelski, and Erica Lee, with Reeves and Louise Rosner serving as executive producers. Shay Hatten and Michael Finch penned the screenplay after Lionsgate opted to part ways with series screenwriter and John Wick creator Derek Kolstad. No details have been revealed about the storyline of the new movie, though it's safe to bet on it having a high body count courtesy of Keanu Reeves' John Wick - and possibly his old pal who's played by Yen.

"Keanu [Reeves] and I exchanged New Year's greetings and said, 'Hope to see you this year,'" series star Ian McShane also said in another prior interview with Collider, confirming his return. "I know the script is being written and they're hoping to do it this year. I know they announced they were gonna do 4 and 5 together, but who knows. The studios announce all sorts of things. No doubt, at some point this year, we're gonna do John Wick 4."

Of the series as a whole so far, McShane added: "They got such a good cast for the first one and it was a very good script. I thought the second one wasn't quite as good, but people by then loved it and went with it. I think the third one was really terrific, so it lived up to it. I always thought it had legs because of Keanu, a dead wife, a dog, a gun, and a great car. It had all of the elements, so how can you fail?"

As McShane suggested previously, production on John Wick 4 is slated to begin this summer on location in France, Germany, and Japan. At this time, the movie is scheduled to be released on May 27, 2022. Previously, it was reported that John Wick 5 would be shot back-to-back with John Wick 4, but that no longer seems to be the case. Meanwhile, there are also plans for a spinoff movie set in the same universe, following the ballerina previously seen in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. This news comes to us from Deadline.