Where was Caine filmed? Donnie Yen takes the John Wick Universe to Budapest and Hong Kong

Principal photography commenced in Budapest on April 25, 2026. The Hungarian capital has been one of the John Wick franchise's preferred European locations for years – its ornate architecture, dramatic bridges over the Danube, and dense historic streetscapes providing the kind of backdrop that the franchise's stylised violence requires without looking like a studio set. Budapest's Gran Hotel Royal – known onscreen in Chapter 3 as the Casablanca Continental – and its surrounding streets have defined how the franchise looks in Europe for four films. Caine continues that visual language, with Budapest providing the film's European operational territory as Caine attempts to build a new life outside the High Table's reach.

Set photos circulating in late April show Yen in character seated on a bench in what appears to be a Budapest square, in a rare quiet moment opposite Chinese rising star Sabrina Zhuang, who plays Mia, Caine's daughter. The contrast between the stillness of the scene and the violence that surrounds it is precisely the register Yen has described as the heart of the character. "What drew me to Caine is the contradiction," Yen said. "He carries love, responsibility, and sacrifice in a world built on consequence."

Continue reading below the ad

The production arrived in Hong Kong in late June 2026, with filming scheduled to wrap in July. Yen had pushed for Hong Kong from the earliest development discussions, insisting that part of Caine's story be set and shot in the city. It is a personal and pointed decision. Yen is one of the defining figures of Hong Kong action cinema – the heir to a tradition that runs through Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and the golden era of martial arts filmmaking. Bringing Caine home to Hong Kong is not just a location choice. It is a statement about where this character's soul belongs.

The production was spotted at The Big Buddha on Lantau Island on July 10, with Yen and Mason Thames filming together at the iconic hilltop statue. The crew filmed on Hollywood Road in Central on July 9, with Yen, Thames, and Julius Brian Siswojo all present. A triad funeral scene was shot on July 13 on Portland Street in Mong Kok – one of Kowloon's densest and most atmospheric commercial streets – and at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, which was decorated to resemble a funeral home for the sequence. Yen and  Jacky Heung were seen on set at Tsing Shan Monastery in Tuen Mun on July 6, and at the Hong Kong Palace Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District on July 8.

Earlier reports from Hong Kong media confirmed additional location scouting and filming at Tai O fishing village – the atmospheric stilt-house community on the western edge of Lantau Island, one of the last places in Hong Kong that looks genuinely unchanged from decades past. Lan Kwai Fong and the Star Ferry Pier were also reported as locations. Tuen Mun, in the New Territories, hosted scenes featuring Yen and Jacky Heun.

No release date has been confirmed. Given the July 2026 Hong Kong wrap and the film's scale, a 2027 theatrical release via Lionsgate is the most likely window.