I dropped the ball a bit on this in the past week but it looks as if The Monkey King franchise is officially back on track for a fourth film.
The trilogy thusfar has largely been a headlining success for its Chinese New Year releases with Soi Cheang at the helm. The third installment, with Aaron Kwok succeeding the role a second time after Donnie Yen in 2014, hit a bit of a bump in box office earnings which rendered future prospects a little uncertain at first.
It’s not known yet who among the cast will return or if Cheang will sit back in the director’s chair. It would be a worthy effort though, considering how critically the second film fared with viewers, showing much more promise in its concrete, balanced use of CG visuals. It shows that Cheang knows how to direct fantasy done right, and Kwok has been a formidable player in the title role.
One thing for certain is that I hope the next installment lays off of the heavy-duty CG. As much as an IP like The Monkey King rests on its appeal to action fans, there wasn’t a single genuine fight scene that wasn’t constructed with a truckload of graphics, which can be off-putting, to say the least, no matter how gorgeous most of it is or how well the story is constructed.
I’m curious though – if Kwok is to be replaced, which actor nowadays should claim the mantle?
Feel free to comment below and share your thoughts!
Hat tip to @AsianFilmStrike.