Actor and martial arts star Jean-Paul Ly is now in the early days of development for his own feature directing debut, The Shinobis. I can presently report several things on this – that Ly himself is also penning and producing the project which he’s billing as an action comedy going forward, and he’s also looking heavily at names relative to both acting and high-caliber stunt talent to fit the profile.
Here is the tentative logline as it reads: After years on the run for deserting their clan, a dysfunctional ninja family, who tries to live a quiet ordinary life, is forced back into action to rescue one of their own.
Production start date and location aren’t yet known while Ly is continues to push the needle forward on evolving his concept to its utmost full potential. Stay tuned for future reports.
Ly is best known as a stunt performer and professional himself while the last several years have seen him take a career pivot into directing, having shepherded his 2018 proof of concept, The Division. On top of fight choreography, Ly has also grown his craft into acting with such credits as Jimmy Henderson’s Fantasia favorite, Jailbreak, David Newton’s The Take Down and Marc Price’s rip-roaring action comedy, Nightshooters.
The London-based actor is currently expected to appear in Gu Shang-wei/Andy On thriller The Guardian, Ross Boyask’s I Am Vengeance: Retaliation which launches next month at the American Film Market, and in Kenneth Branagh’s Artemis Fowl which opens May 29, 2020 from Walt Disney Pictures.
Ly is repped by Sara Sedhev at UK-based Core Management.