International action star Donnie Yen, unveiled the latest behind the scenes featurette for the upcoming domestic January 31, 2014 release of director Terence Cheung‘s The Monkey King: The Legend Begins, which you can now view below along with the first right above from a little over a week ago. The film is the latest cinemtic 3D rendition of the classic mythological character written by Edmond Wong and the late Szeto Kam-Yuen, and featuring Yen in the lead of what is expected to be the first of a trilogy.
Sun Wukong, (The Monkey King) is a monkey born from a heavenly stone who acquires supernatural powers. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain for 500 years, he later accompanies the monk Xuanzang on a journey to India. Thus, according to legend, Buddhism is brought to ancient China. This much beloved story, is as much a part of Asian culture as The Iliad and The Odyssey or The Wizard of Oz are to the West. This first installment in a trilogy of live action 3-D movies is actually a prequel to The Journey To The West, the much told story of the Monkey Kings adventures on the road to India. The Monkey King: Havoc In The Heavenly Palace will be released in the U.S. as The Monkey King. The first movie is the origins story — beginning with the birth of Sun Wukong and ending with his imprisonment for his crimes under the Five-Peaked Mountain. Along the way he acquires incredible powers, battling the armies of the gods and the armies of the demons to find his rightful place in the Heavens. It is a classic story of the scorned underdog who acquires great abilities but uses them recklessly and ultimately must pay a huge price to find redemption. The Monkey King captures the drama, beauty, humor and fantastic action of the folk legend and brings it to the screen in a way never before possible.
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