Martial arts star Donnie Yen is currently taking a different turn with his latest role in Jason Kwan’s Chasing The Dragon, a remake of Poon Man-Kit’s To Be Number One in which Yen recently confirmed his as a non-action role. This will be a particular career milestone for fans of the action star who know him prolifically for lighting up the screen in many a martial arts film, and here and now alongside Andy Lau in a role said to have inspired one of his own earlier pseudo-biopictoral films.
Set photos can be found online as production continues, while it is, indeed, safe to say that Yen isn’t abandoning his time-honored craft any time soon. Thus, taking to social media on Friday, Yen confirmed his attachment with director Wilson Yip for Ip Man 4, the fourth martial arts-geared pseudo-biopictoral saga inspired by the life and times of the Wing Chun grandmaster.
The news comes following this year’s stellar release of Ip Man 3, also starring Lynn Hung, Mike Tyson and Max Zhang with Danny Chan portraying the role of the grandmaster’s pupil and once and future film star, Bruce Lee. Ticket sales in Asia became a small point of controversy but it didn’t stop the film grossing more than $158 million dollars worldwide and incurring a raft of nominations and wins at several film events, including sweeping three awards at this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival.
You can read two reviews of Ip Man 3 either
here or
here to reflect on the film and where you think the story will go next. For now, fans of Yen will have plenty of reasons to keep their eyes open for more Yen with the aforementioned Chasing The Dragon, in addition to
The Wesley for Pegasus, as well as Anchor Bay Entertainment’s U.S. DVD and Blu-Ray release of
The Lost Bladesman.
Yip, who now adds a seventh title to his credit with Yen in a starring role since S.P.L. (2005), is expected to begin filming the new thriller, tentatively titled Fate which has Sammo Hung directing the action sequences this month for international action star Tony Jaa in a yet undisclosed role. Yen is slated to appear in Gareth Edwards’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, slated for this December 16, 2016, followed by xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage on January 20, 2017.
