UPDATE – March 12, 2019 (7:21pm EST): Following Andreas Wiseman’s exclusive at Deadline on Monday, Hong Kong media outlet Apple Daily is reporting that Andrew Lau knew nothing about this project. Will follow up here or in a seperate report as more updates arise. Stay tuned…
EARLIER: Legend Of The Fist: The Return Of Chen Zhen helmer Andrew Lau’s newest stake now lies with Pulse films in a conjoined effort to adapt author Man Kai-Ming and artist Lun Yu-Kwok’s weekly 1992 comic book series, Teddy Boy. The goal is either to make it a series or a feature film with Chinese publisher Concord publishing overseeing the deal.
Teddy Boy follows protagonist Ho-Nam Chan’s dizzying ascent through the ranks of the Hong Kong triad hierarchy. The celebrated series explores loyalty, brotherhood, politics and corruption as well as the intergenerational conflicts and power struggles within the underground organized crime group.
Thomas Benski, Dimitra Tsingou and Brian Levy will produce for London-based Pulse with Lau and partner Andrew Loo producing for Initial A. Lau, whose recent stints behind the lens includes last year’s Louis Koo-led Kung Fu Monster and the Martin Scorsese-backed Revenge Of The Green Dragons also with Loo, is best known for spearheading franchises such as the Infernal Affairs trilogy and the Young And Dangerous saga of the 90s.
Pulse is also behind The Raid and The Raid 2 helmer Gareth Evans’s latest brewing UK gangster series, Gangs Of London and Gregory Burke’s Atomic Bazaar.
“Pulse Films is dedicated to providing audiences with rich and diverse stories from a global pool of content. Young and Dangerous is precisely the type of IP we are drawn to, it’s an historic and iconic series with a real international attraction. We are excited to work with Andrew’s team to find a true filmmaker with the vision, originality and passion to build an on-screen universe in a way that brings this dynamic franchise to life for a global audience.” said Pulse’s Benski.
“I’ve always been drawn to characters who wage the battle between brotherhood and betrayal, themes which feature heavily in the Young and Dangerous universe. I couldn’t be more excited working with Pulse Films to introduce this world to a whole new generation and a brand new audience,” said Hong Kong industry vet Lau,
Teddy Boy is out to directors and writers as we await to find out if the adaptation will be set in Hong Kong or transposed to a western setting for its narrative. (Deadline)