Ip Man 3D updates of the past several years have been what I can only describe as a roller coaster of emotion for fans within the last several years since the success of the first two films directed by Wilson Yip and starring Donnie Yen. At one point in 2010 producer Raymond Wong reportedly had his own doubts that the film would even happen. In few years, however, things eventually changed as the film was finally announced back in April of last year with Wong set to produce. His son, Edmond Wong, was slated to provide the script for Yip to direct the film as well, starting at the end of 2012. Sales agents for Pegasus Motion Pictures even pushed the film during last year’s attendance at Cannes, promised with a budget of up to $36 million dollars, a pretty penny for a Hong Kong 3D production.
Wow, so things are looking pretty good then, right?
Well, since then, other unfortunate reports signaled the only other possibility that the film was growing closer to not even happening, including, among other things, reports of lack of funding and a disinterested director, joined by his main star as they both became increasingly busy with seperate projects, further dimming hopes that Ip Man 3D would begin filming this July.
Now, we have some confirmation from Yen’s publicist that he is in preliminary talks with the producer, despite not yet seeing the script, in a new report today from News Infeeds. The article also quotes Edmond who spoke about plans on casting for the role of Bruce Lee in his teen years, saying “Stars like Aarif Lee and Danny Chan are suitable and have played Bruce Lee before, but we are looking for a 16-17 year-old Bruce Lee. They may be a little too old. It is all up to Wilson Ip to decide,”.
Both Ip Man movies, based loosely on the life and legend of the Wing Chun grandmaster, so far have been huge success stories for the Yip/Yen duo, with Ip Man 2 currently holding a 92% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film also marks Yip and Yen’s fifth film together as director and star, in addition to Sha Po Lang, Dragon Tiger Gate and the Hong Kong mixed martial arts smash hit, Flash Point. Sammo Hung directed the action sequences for both Ip Man movies, on top of having a featured role in the second film along with the return of Simon Yam, actress Lynn Hung, action actor Fan Siu-wong, and starring British actor and veteran martial arts screenfighter Darren Shahlavi as Ip’s nemesis, Taylor “Twister” Milos.
Yen is currently filming scenes for his next action film with director Teddy Chen titled, The Last Of The Best, after having recently wrapped up part one of the two-part action adventure reboot, and one of Well Go USA’s most recent acquisitions, Iceman 3D, which is slated for release next Spring. Yen can also be seen in the latest teaser for the upcoming February 14, 2014 release of The Monkey King.
Stay tuned for more updates.