After previous English-language stints in films like Highlander: Endgame and Blade 2, and with Priority Run no longer a “priority” at the moment, international action sensation Donnie Yen mainly kept to the Hong Kong and China market putting forward an illustrious repetoire of action-packed features. Of course, some left a lot more to be desired, but his fanbase remains ever faithful, a fact that couldn’t be true at a better time than now for Yen‘s fanbase in North America with the forthcoming production of his latest actioner, Noodle Man.
The Hollywood Reporter is now reporting that the star of the upcoming Teddy Chen-directed martial arts thriller, Kung Fu Jungle will get his English-language debut in a lead role that will see him as a down and out ex-cop-turned-noodle shop owner who crosses paths with the Chinese drug lord responsible for his partner’s death fifteen years earlier. Michael Shamberg, who worked on Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained will produce the new action thriller with Daming Chen helming the project following his directorial work on the Chinese-language version of What Women Want.
Yen will be back on the big screen with co-star Wang Baoqiang at the end of the month when Kung Fu Jungle releases domestically. The actor’s other English-language role in director Yuen Woo-Ping’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2: The Green Legend, will arrive as a theatrical IMAX/Netflix exclusive release next August.
Oh, and uh…by the way, we had one behind-the-scenes featurette for Kung Fu Jungle, but EMP Marketing just released another, so here it is below, in case you still need your fill.
H/T: City On Fire