John Wick 4 Rumored To Add Wesley Snipes

Update: THR‘s Borys Kit says the rumors aren’t true, tweeting: “Despite some reports, action star @wesleysnipes is NOT going to be in #JohnWick 4. There were some discussions a little while ago but it didn’t work out.” The original story follows.

The past few weeks have been a major boon to the cast of the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4 with multiple actors confirmed to be joining the highly anticipated sequel. Now we have another potential addition to the film as The Illuminerdi reports that former Blade star Wesley Snipes is in talks with Lionsgate to take on a supporting role in the new film. The outlet reports that Snipes, whose other action credits include Demolition Man and The Expendables 3, is “being circled for a role in which he will play a swordsman alongside Keanu Reeves’ John Wick.” Based on his past we know Snipes already has some sword experience.

Production on the upcoming sequel is set to begin very soon in Paris and Berlin, with additional photography scheduled to take place in New York and Japan as well. Should Snipes’ deal close he’ll join a cast that includes, naturally, Keanu Reeves in the title role plus Japanese-British pop star Rina Sawayama, Ip Man and Rogue One star Donnie Yen, Wynonna Earp’s Shamier Anderson, and Pennywise himself Bill Skarsgard. Laurence Fishburne has also confirmed that he’ll return for the film, reprising his role of The Bowery King who appeared in John Wicks 2 and 3.

A previous report on a casting grid for John Wick 4 called for “a female between the ages of 20 and 30 to play the unnamed ‘Ballerina’ role,” fans may recall that a spin-off starring that character has been in the works for some time. It would appear that Sawayama is taking on that role as the casting grid listed it as a lead alongside Reeves, which previous reports confirmed.

Perhaps the biggest surprise about the new John Wick movie is that franchise creator, writer Derek Kolstad, won’t actually script for the film and the planned fifth movie. Kolstad previously confirmed to Collider that he’s not involved.

“I’m actually not involved in four and five,” Kolstad explained. “No. At a certain stage of the studio will tell you, your creation is graduated, and you wish it well. I’m still close with Chad [Stahelski], still close with Dave [Leitch], and I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m excited to see.”

Writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch will pen the script for John Wick: Chapter 4, which will arrive on May 27, 2022. It had previously been planned for a fifth movie to be shot back-to-back with the fourth film but that plan has since been altered.