Budding pop icon Rina Sawayama will be making the jump to feature film actress in a high profile way, as she was announced as a star of the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4 on Thursday. It’s unclear what kind of role, exactly, Sawayama would be playing in the Lionsgate action sequel, which will once again be directed by Chad Stahelski, starring Keanu Reeves as the titular assassin. The film’s script was written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch, and it’s scheduled to shoot this summer.
It seems safe to say, though, that in the John Wick universe there’s a very good chance we’ll be seeing Sawayama as a gun-toting badass, something that seems in keeping with the swagger of her critically acclaimed 2020 album debut Sawayama.
“I’m so glad to have Rina on board to make her feature film debut in John Wick: Chapter 4,” said Stahelski in a statement. “She’s an incredible talent who’ll bring so much to the film.”
Sawayama was born in Japan but raised in London, where she attended school at Cambridge University and immediately began turning heads with musical collaborations with the likes of Elton John. She’ll be embarking on her first world tour later this year, although one has to wonder if her future interest will lie primarily in the musical or acting arenas. Perhaps we’ll have a better idea when we see the extent of her role in the fourth installment of John Wick.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is one of two upcoming John Wick sequels in planning, which are presumably meant to finally conclude the blood-drenched story of “Baba Yaga” himself, Mr. Wick. It was originally intended to shoot back-to-back with the final Chapter 5, but those plans were scrapped thanks to the pandemic. It does likely mean that as with Chapter 3: Parabellum, we shouldn’t expect any kind of cathartic conclusion to the story of John Wick just yet.