lewis tan

Philip Tan, Actor And Stunt Professional Center Of New Biopic Development From Son, Actor Lewis Tan

Actor and martial artist Lewis Tan is currently developing a biopic about his father, actor and stunt professional Philip Tan (Lethal Weapon 4, Speed Racer). News of the project broke last week in an interview with Tan shepherded by reporter Lisa Cam for South China Morning Post’s STYLE magazine. Tan spoke about his upbringing, and the role martial arts and movies played in the bond he shares with his father. He also dove in plentily about the project to Cam, delineating the history of Asian casting in entertainment and the progress that’s been made in recent years, among other points in the interview. “I wrote it like a coming-of-age tale that tells his story in three segments,” says Tan. “One is as a child in China, then about him growing up in London dealing with racism, abandonment issues, anger and pain. Then the last segment is set in the 70s […]

FISTFUL OF VENGEANCE Review: Netflix’s ‘Wu Assassins’ Sequel Feature Impresses Enough To Please The Fandom

Lee B. Golden III

Director Roel Reine’s latest return to martial arts and fantasy with Netflix’s Fistful Of Vengeance does a fine job of maintaining the same energy and flair of its preceding Wu Assassins series, and overall delivers largely on what fans can expect from a film headlined by Iko Uwais, an action star who broke ground more than ten years ago with some of the most elevated action cinema ever shot on camera. Reine continues a lot of that fanfare here, though lacking the same effect as its predecessors, but still bearing some fruit along the way. It’s a film that furthers along Uwais’ career into English-speaking territories for audiences as we approach his next appearance among the cadre of Hollywood action stars to be seen in the next Expendables film, and not for nothing either, but also a huge improvement in feature output for co-star Lewis Tan who reprises his role […]

The ‘Wu Assassin’ Returns With A FISTFUL OF VENGEANCE In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Having planted a flag for HBO Max’s place in home streaming with the milestone release of Simon McQuoid’s Mortal Kombat, actor Lewis Tan is back in fighting form joining Wu Assassins leading man Iko Uwais and cohorts Lawrence Kao and JuJu Chan Szeto for the feature sequel, Fistful Of Vengeance. The film is directed by Roel Reiné (Halo, The Admiral) and now stands tall with a first-look trailer above to kick things off ahead of its February 17 launch on Netflix. Super-powered assassin Kai and friends Lu Xin and Tommy track a killer from San Francisco’s Chinatown to Thailand to avenge the death of a loved one. But their hunt soon entangles them with old enemies, a mysterious billionaire and an ancient mystical force bent on taking over the world. Iko Uwais (The Raid) stars with Lewis Tan (Mortal Kombat), Lawrence Kao (Max Steel) and Pearl Thusi (Queen Sono) in […]

MORTAL KOMBAT Review: Mildly Flawed, But Retkonned Victoriously

Lee B. Golden III

It’s been a strain waiting so many years to see another live-action iteration of hit fighting game franchise, Mortal Kombat, on the big screen. To add, it’s possible that the varying expectations from fans would’ve added some considerable pressure unto anyone trying to do right by the brand, though you have to give it to the powers that be for attempting something different – a move often haplessly applied with other filmic attempts on the genre that usually draws ire from the masses. And rightfully so, in some ways. Look at all pre-existing examples from Steven de Souza’s Street Fighter (1994) and Andrzej Bartkowiak’s Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun Li (2009) to Gordon Chan’s ill-conceived take on King Of Fighters (2009), and even Tekken (2010) and its hackeneyed direct-to-DVD sequel. The bright spots within many of these films, and areas of massive potential to world-build in ways that could […]

QUANTUM SPY: Lewis Tan To Star In New Espionage Spy Thriller TV Adaptation

Lee B. Golden III

Just days away from making his appeal to North Americans everywhere through the release of Mortal Kombat from Warner Bros. Pictures this Friday, actor Lewis Tan is now placing his feet firmly in a new pilot for Quantum Spy, based on award-winning journalist and author David Ignatius’s 2017 W. W. Norton & Company publication. Variety‘s exclusive on Monday reports that Tan will star from a script by Dave Kalstein (USA series Treadstone, NCIS: LA, Quantico), as well as co-executive produce on the pilot from Boies/Schiller Entertainment, Anonymous Content, Flame Ventures and Tony Krantz (24). Anonymous Content’s Alex Goldstone will oversee the project alongside Zack Schiller on behalf Boies/Schiller, the latter which acquired the rights back from NBC where it was previously developing. Tan will play newly-assigned Chinese-American CIA officer Harris Chang, tasked to hunt down the traitor. Soon, he’s caught in an ever-expanding maze of spymasters, assassins and temptations turning […]

FISTFUL OF VENGEANCE Is The Next Chapter Of The ‘Wu Assassins’ Saga At Netflix

Lee B. Golden III

Iko Uwais is back and starring in Fistful Of Vengeance, per trade news making the rounds on Friday. The film is a standalone feature follow-up of Wu Assassins, as recently confirmed by Uwais himself in an episode of Scott Adkins’ The Art Of Action interview series. Per sites Variety and THR, rejoining Uwais are series one regulars Lewis Tan, Lawrence Kao, and JuJu Chan Szeto. New casting additions include Pearl Thusi (Quantico, Queen Sono) and Jason Tobin (Warrior), along with actresses Rhatha Phongam (Mechanic: Resurrection, Only God Forgives) and Francesca Corney. Roel Reiné (Black Sails, The Admiral) is on set in Thailand to direct, in reunion with writers Cameron Litvack, Jessica Chou, and Yalun Tu penning the script as they did for the first season of the show. Living Films is providing production services. Wu Assassins launched in 2019, starring Uwais as a wayward chef in San Francisco spirited away […]

MORTAL KOMBAT: Blood, Gore, Fatalies And More In The Official Restricted Trailer!

MORTAL KOMBAT: Blood, Gore, Fatalities And More In The Official Restricted Trailer!

Lee B. Golden III

Almost thirty years later, Mortal Kombat is still here. It’s taken more than two decades since New Line Cinema paved the way for live-action film efforts in ’95 and ’97, but Warner Bros. Pictures has finally made good on its commitment to a new film inspired by the hit fighting game franchise after announcing development of a reboot back in 2011.That the game franchise itself has evolved long since its heyday at Midway in the early 90s has also proven beneficial, amply creating a flexible space for further development in its IP, and aptly welcoming an original character in its universe that hereto sees actor and martial artist Lewis Tan (Deadpool 2, Into The Badlands, Wu Assassins) finally headlining a major motion picture. In “Mortal Kombat,” MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage—or why Outworld’s Emperor Shang Tsung has sent his […]

MORTAL KOMBAT: Prepare Yourself With These New Stills From The Upcoming Reboot Starring Lewis Tan

Lee B. Golden III

The last twelve hours have been more than irking for anyone who’s been following the stars of the new Mortal Kombat movie on social media, but we now have a new look at exclusive photos and stills from the upcoming Simon McQuoid directed reboot thanks to an exclusive piece on Friday from reporter Nick Romano at Entertainment Weekly. The report highlights a ten minute sequence introducing a “blood universe” of sorts, that begins with the history of characters Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim) and Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), followed by a look at starring actor Lewis Tan who plays an original character named Cole Young, a down-on-his-luck fighter with a mysterious birthmark in the shape of the titular MK logo that connects him to these characters of the game, and ultimately, the tournament. The photos in the gallery below and at EW, come courtesy and credit to Mark Rogers, New Line Cinema and […]

JI: Don’t Miss The New Sci-Fi Action Short From DUST, Starring Lewis Tan

Lee B. Golden III

I was today years old when I realized actor and martial artist Lewis Tan did an amazing shortfilm that’s been making the festival rounds for a while. Ji is the name, and it’s directed by Ben Griffin, and while I normally save these for The Hit List, I have the bug at the moment, so I didn’t wanna let up. Besides, after successfully earning his place in martial arts action fandom over the last few years with Marvel’s Iron Fist and prominent roles in AMC’s Into The Badlands and Netflix’s Wu Assassins, Tan’s next big move is expected to arrive with the January 15 release of Mortal Kombat, from Warner Bros. Pictures. Ji, for what it’s worth, serves as a nice little treat before then, doused with dazzling special effects to manifest Griffin’s ambitious sci-fi concept. The story introduces a universe in which the Earth is left destitute, wartorn and […]

MORTAL KOMBAT: Lewis Tan Shouts Out Two ‘Future Greats’ Behind The Action

Lee B. Golden III

Actor Lewis Tan took to Twitter on Thursday evening to signal fans his current status on choreography for the current production of Simon McQuoid’s feature debut, Mortal Kombat. Film Combat Syndicate responded to the actor with a question as to who fans should thank for fine-tuning the fight scene action to come, and Tan responded, naming stunt performers Chan Griffin and Anthony Rinna, calling them “Future greats.” Just learned the choreography for the finale… it is a beast on a whole diff level, and I’ve been doing this a very long time. Mind. Blown. #MortalKombat — Lewis Tan (@TheLewisTan) November 22, 2019 Chan Griffin and Anthony Rinna. Future greats — Lewis Tan (@TheLewisTan) November 22, 2019 Griffin’s IMDb page indicates he’s been doing stunts since 2010, with credits in fight scene coordination including films like S.S. Rajamouli’s Bahubali 2: The Conclusion and David F. Sandberg’s Shazam. He and Rinna both […]

Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson and Lewis Tan

MORTAL KOMBAT Finds Sonya Blade And Kano In Jessica McNamee And Josh Lawson, Lewis Tan Also Cast With Mystery Role

Lee B. Golden III

Actress Jessica McNamee, and actors Josh Lawson and Lewis Tan will be joining the opposing forces of Earthrealm and Netherrealm in Simon McQuoid’s Mortal Kombat, due out in theaters March 5, 2021. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, McNamee and Lawson will tackle the roles of warring archrivals, Sonya Blade and Kano, while details on Tan’s role currently remain locked behind the Outworld portal away from prying eyes. Sonya Blade and Kano came into the original game franchise as archenemies with Blade seeking vengeance for the vicious murder of her partner at the hands of the latter, an elusive crimeboss and megainfluencer of the criminal underworld. During her trials with her Earthrealm allies in the games against the forces of Shang Tsung, the Emperor himself, Shao Khan’s and the manipulative gods overseeing the titular tournament, Blade would eventually ascend to the rank of General. Sal DiVita attributed his iconic playable incarnation […]

First Reaction: WU ASSASSINS, The Tale Of A Chef Whose Kitchen Just Got Hotter

Lee B. Golden III

Ten years since breaking ground for Indonesian audiences with Merantau and his own action franchise with The Raid, action star and actor Iko Uwais has grown ever closer to becoming a more household name in the mainstream market beyond the martial arts niche. Following recent hits like Headshot and The Night Comes For Us and Hollywood turn-outs for Mile 22 and Stuber, the prolific Silat impresario now stakes his claim with his own Netflix series in Wu Assassins, the latest in a continued string of martial arts-tethered TV hits succeeding shows like Into The Badlands and Cinemax’s Bruce Lee-honed western drama, Warrior. Set in present-day San Francisco, the show opens in action-scenic fashion with Uwais embroiled in a blistering hallway fight. We see two versions of this action sequence in the first episode bookending what observes as an introductory look into the world of Kai, a stoic, resilient chef trying […]

WU ASSASSINS Official Series Trailer Unleashes Martial Arts Mastery And Mayhem!

Lee B. Golden III

The first official clip is already making the rounds for Netflix’s forthcoming ten-episode action drama, Wu Assassins. The streamer now adds to the fervor with on official series trailer packing well over a punch with actor Iko Uwais leading the charge, a major mainstream milestone for his career in front of a global audience. The last in a line of Chosen Ones, a wannabe chef teams up with a homicide detective to unravel an ancient mystery and take down supernatural assassins. Rounding out the cast is a heavy-hitting roster that lists Byron Mann, Tzi Ma and actress JuJu Chan, Into The Badlands actor Lewis Tan and Polar and History series Vikings actress Katheryn Winnick, John Wick 3‘s own Mark Dacascos and Sons Of Anarchy and American Fighter actor Tommy Flanagan, with Celia Au, Lawrence Kao and Li Jun Li also starring. August 8 is the date, and Entertainment Weekly also […]

Netflix’s WU ASSASSINS Adds Juju Chan and Mark Dacascos

Lee B. Golden III

Netflix has cast Juju Chan and Mark Dacascos to its cadre of martial arts badasses for Netflix series WU ASSASSINS starring Iko Uwais

INTO THE BADLANDS: Don’t Miss The Official Trailer For Season Three Of The Hit Martial Arts Action Series

Lee B. Golden III

AMC’s hit television series, Into The Badlands, scored an epic follow-up last year with its second season, layered in tragedy and revelations that now shape forthcoming events that await for season three. Daniel Wu is back to lead the cast in prime fashion along with Aramis Knight for its April 22 premiere at 10:00 p.m. EST/PST, and the official trailer has finally arrived unleashing the usual onslaught of storied survival, deception, consequential upheaval and the cream filling of it all: chock-filled martial arts action madness! Granted, if you haven’t seen the second season, you can catch seasons one and two on Netflix or where ever it is sold on digital or DVD. Season three once again sees Wu in the role of Sunny, rejoined by Bajie forced to journey back into the Badlands to save his son Henry after contracting a mysterious illness. When he arrives, new twists of fate […]