It seems incredible to me that we already have three John Wick movies. It feels like the first one just came out. It’s been seven years, though, since John Wick dropped (and six years since everyone discovered it on demand). Maybe it’s the Keanu time warp—we see him so infrequently, and when we do, he is so much unchanged that every appearance is either yesterday, tomorrow, or ten years ago—or maybe it’s just that John Wick holds up so incredibly well, it still feels like a brand new movie. Anyway, time is a crazy concept and somehow we’re already three John Wick movies old. Because time is also unrelenting, the fourth John Wick is gearing up, with Shamier Anderson being the latest to join the cast.
Anderson joins the cast on the heels of Donnie Yen, and is a Canadian actor probably best known, right now, for Canuck cult hit Wynonna Earp. The John Wick franchise doesn’t really make stars, not like, say, Marvel does, but it’s not overstating to say this is a big gig for Anderson anyway. And Anderson comes with a significant platform attached, so increasing his visibility only serves to boost the profile of his causes. Along with his brother, Stephan James, he is a founder of the non-profit BLACK Canada, which has expanded to include The Black Academy, an organization dedicated to recognizing and promoting Black Canadian talent and achievement. They intend to launch a new awards show in 2022. John Wick 4 is due in 2022. Assuming The Black Academy awards show launches as planned, Shamier Anderson will be attending as a star of John Wick 4, already one of the most anticipated movies of next year. Will that connection make or break The Black Academy? Of course not. But it won’t hurt the publicity, either.
