Acclaimed filmmaker Jia Zhangke has business in India this week where the Mumbai Film Festival is underway from now through the 27th. Amid the festivities in the last 24 hours or so brought news of his latest move to adapt an India-set storification of the classic Journey To The West novel.
The news comes following February’s report of his involvement in a seperate martial arts film that was said to begin back in the Spring. Variety reports that that film is currently casting while he moves forward with his take on the 16th century-written novel by author Wu Cheng’en, which the report also confirms will focus on a segment of the novel where Buddhist monk Xuanzang lands somewhere in Central Asia and India wherein lies a country populated solely by women.
Jia also says the production may even include facilities from India along with his Fabula Entertainment banner and the Shanghai Film Group Corporation producing. The film marks just one of several recent treatments of the novel, including both Soi Cheang’s installments of The Monkey King, and Stephen Chow’s prior fantasy action romp, Journey To The West from which a follow-up is also on the way with acclaimed filmmaker Tsui Hark at the helm and Chow writing and producing for next year.