'John Wick 4' Villain Will Be Played By Marko Zaror, The Latest B-Movie King To Join The Cast
Call the Continental and book some extra rooms, because the cast of John Wick 4 keeps getting better.
According to Deadline, b-movie action star and absolute beast Marko Zaror is in talks to play the villain opposite Keanu Reeves' John Wick in the upcoming fourth installment of the franchise.
Zaror is the perfect kind of direct-to-video badass the John Wick series needs. The Chilean-American actor began training in martial arts at age 6, eventually becoming a master in kickboxing and Tae Kwan Do. His career began in Mexico, where he starred in a number of Spanish-language action movies. He caught his big break working as a stunt double for Dwayne Johnson in 2003's The Rundown. In 2010 he made his English-language acting debut in the direct-to-video action sequel Undisputed III: Redemption. He recently starred in the high-tech shoot-em-up, Invincible.
A Cast of Real Action Heroes
The John Wick films have been great about focusing on the work of stunt performers, which makes a lot of sense given its director, Chad Stahelski, is a former stuntman and stunt coordinator. There's a clear desire for the films to deliver on big action spectacle while feeling real – the gun-fu in John Wick has a tremendous amount of impact. The films have also been big on casting actors from direct-to-video and foreign markets, wearing its influences proudly.
Direct-to-video action king Scott Adkins (Triple Threat) is also set to join the other newcomers to the absolutely loaded cast, which includes Westworld's Hiroyuki Sanada, It's Bill Skarsgård, Japanese-British singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama, and Ip Man himself, the legendary Donnie Yen. That's a whole bunch of kung-fu fighters, a pop star, and Pennywise the clown, for those keeping track. Genre-movie regular Lance Reddick will return to lend his gorgeously gravelly voice and handsome visage to the keeper of the Continental hotel, Charon.
It's refreshing seeing the John Wick series stick to its guns with casting genre staples instead of trying to push big, mainstream names. While your average moviegoer might not recognize some of the cast members, Sanada, Adkins, Zaror, and Yen are all action stars in their own right with dedicated fanbases. These are actors who don't just pretend to look cool and beat the crap out of one another – they actually can do all of the martial arts they display. In particular, I look forward to Yen and Zaror getting to really duke it out, because they're both extremely talented fighters. It's a great testament to the folks behind John Wick's dedication to their roots, and makes the wait until the fourth film's release so much tougher.
John Wick 4 is set for theatrical release on May 27, 2022.