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IP MAN 4 Shoots This April

The past several years have been headline making for martial arts star Donnie Yen. Pairing with Wong Jing for an Enter The Fat Dragon revival in addition to confirming a live action for Sleeping Dogs and finishing MMA drama, Big Brother, are all a priority among others for the actor who has since weighed in with word that he’ll be shooting Ip Man 4 next month.

The news, forwarded from Chinese media at On.cc by way of Jaynestars this week, came as Yen was reportedly visiting his family in Australia with further details suggesting the new installment, to be directed by Wilson Yip for another turn at the helm, would see the Wing Chun grandmaster searching for his disciple, Bruce Lee, in the 1960s-set United States. Next to the unlikely return of actress Lynn Hung whose role as his wife, Cheung Wing-sing, it is not yet clear if actor Danny Chan, prolific for iconically portraying the late Jeet Kune Do founder both on television and in the preceding hit threequel of the Ip Man franchise, will reprise the role.

The Ip Man film series launched in 2008 with Donnie Yen hailing the title role and setting a trend that would see the iconic real-life Wing Chun legend played continually in other incarnations by other actors on film and TV. The Yip-directed trilogy has earned well over $210 million dollars on top of achieving rafts of wins and nominations with Bests in actor, director and action choreography.

A spin-off also remains pending from Yuen Woo-Ping titled Ip Man Legacy: Master Z, which stars Ip Man 3 antagonist Zhang Jin opposite Dave Bautista and the legendary Michelle Yeoh, and with an appearance by fellow international star Tony Jaa.

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THE GRANDMASTER 3D Re-Release Issues New Posters And A Trailer

Aside from all its accolades, director Wong Kar Wai‘s most recent kung fu epic, The Grandmaster, is probably the most lauded by critics for the tedious approach its helmer has taken to bring about a perfect version, of which there have already been several in the past year or so. Nontheless, Wong took it upon himself earlier this year to take the film back under the knife once more for a 3D conversion announced earlier this year in the hopes of creating a more streamlined and cohesive film, one that will likely be much more shorter than its original Chinese release. Alas, the newly 3D-converted film will be getting a 111-minute duration with some newer footage for its China audience beginning on January 8, 2015.

SYNOPSIS (from TWC):

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Wong Kar Wai, THE GRANDMASTER is an epic action feature inspired by the life and times of the legendary kung fu master, Ip Man. The story spans the tumultuous Republican era that followed the fall of China’s last dynasty, a time of chaos, division and war that was also the golden age of Chinese martial arts. Filmed in a range of stunning locations that include the snow-swept landscapes of Northeast China and the subtropical South, THE GRANDMASTER features virtuoso performances by some of the greatest stars of contemporary Asian cinema, including Tony Leung and Ziyi Zhang.

The film also probably marks the last time any of us sees Zhang in a martial arts role unless she plans on surprising us somewhere down the line, in which case, I personally don’t mind. As for The Grandmaster 3D, I certainly hope that this version takes kindly to the needs of the niche both at home and abroad; Aside from seeing master Yuen Woo-Ping‘s masterful choreography on sheer display, clearly the China version was better, and the critics have all agreed and it’s high time they were listened to…that is provided that a U.S. release is also in order.

Check out the trailer below along with the new posters in the following album, and feel free to visit Wong’s official blog for more insight and extra content.

H/T: Indiewire

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