New Daredevil Meets John Wick Action Thriller Continues A Great 64-Year Movie Trend
Nick Bythrow is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant. He has been writing for the site since September 2022. He graduated from Hampshire College in 2022, where he triple majored in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies. When he's not writing about TV and movies for ScreenRant and his blog, Frayed Branches, Nick is penning speculative fiction and poetry on Amazon. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts.
A new action thriller that's Daredevil meets John Wick is poised to continue a fantastic 64-year movie trend that's about to get even better. The best action movies of all time feature characters in unique scenarios, fighting against a plethora of other people in order to escape. Such is the case with the John Wick movies, as its title character's original quest for revenge becomes a mission to find peace through violence. Other action films, like Daredevil, showcase a hero willing to risk their lives for the greater good.
These action movies prove how diverse the genre can be, with a variety of approaches that make every installment its own unique brand of high-octane thrill. It helps that, when it comes to action movies in 2026, new installments to the genre are willing to take various risks to stand out from the crowd. But, when it comes to unique spins on their core ideas, there's one aspect that makes for some compelling character choices and strong action sequences: Blind heroes.
There's A Long History Of Blind Action Heroes & Assassins
Blind action heroes and assassins have been part of the genre for generations. Contemporary blind action stars date back to the Japanese character Zatoichi, a blind swordsman who began as the star of his own novel series before being portrayed onscreen by Shintaro Katsu. This helped inspire a number of blind action heroes that followed, from big names like Marvel's Daredevil, to smaller action installments, like the 1989 movie Blind Fury starring Rutger Hauer. The genre has continued to include blind heroes spanning decades of concentration as part of film history.
In the modern era, the blind hero has become a staple trope of many popular franchises. This includes the ongoing Daredevil: Born Again TV show from Disney+, which pulls from Marvel Comics. But it also includes numerous heroes that have become classic to their worlds, like Caine in John Wick: Chapter 4 and Toph in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Other blind heroes, like Eli in The Book of Eli, have proven the trope works outside franchises in the modern era, too. And it'll be proven vital to one upcoming movie with a blind hero front and center.
The Healer Sounds Like A Great Addition To This Trend
The newest movie set to feature a blind hero at the forefront is The Healer. Announced in May 2026, the movie stars Eddie Peng as a blind acupuncturist living in the seedy underbelly of a dark city. Previously a violent, trained killing machine, Peng's Healer now acts as a medic for others in his broken world. However, all that changes when gang boss Dandy Lynch (Ewan Mitchell) targets one of his young patients, played by Smylie Bradwell. He re-enters a world of violence, using his surgical knowledge as he fights his way to rescuing the young boy.
The Healer marks the directorial debut of action stunt coordinator Can Aydin, best known for working on Thunderbolts* and The Fall Guy. It's produced by Hassell Free Productions and Electric Shadow, while Highland Film Group and 66cc are involved in international sales for the movie. In addition to the above cast members, the movie stars Georgina Beedle and Jameela Jamil. While this basic description is all that's known about the film, its central, blind protagonist continues the genre's trend in a positive way.
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Since The Healer doesn't yet have a release date, it's unclear when the action movie will arrive, and in what capacity it will be released. But, given the blind hero at its center, it seems like it'll embody some of the best elements from franchises like John Wick and Daredevil in its presentation. Once more information about the movie gets released, it'll be sure to present key factors that emphasize the importance of blind characters in action fiction.
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