It was a performance I rather enjoyed – a little reserved but still showed Chen‘s range to a noticable degree, and it suitably won’t hurt to see him in another role after that. Since then he’s had a few projects in store but now that the pot is brewing at AFM this week, Variety brings news of Chen’s latest attachement to the new film, Kung Fu Cowboy. The film joins Chen with The Legend Of Bruce Lee star Danny Chan, and Mortal Kombat star Robin Shou with a script by co-writer and Deadwood scribe W. Earl Brown and producer and director Jonathan Lim which intoduces an East-Meets-West adventure of a displaced Chinese immigrant who rises up against the oppressors upon the construction of the rairoads during the late 19th century.
Kung Fu Cowboy marks the latest partnership between U.S. company Crimson Forrest Entertainment next to China’s Huace Media Group and Cuixing Media Group of whose own producers will also handle financing and distribution. Kenneth Burke and Daxing Zhang will also produce. Providing a statement on the production, Lim tells the press, “We’re combining two popular pop cult genres and assembling a highly talented cast whose martial arts skills will excite all fans of the genre. This is a piece of forgotten history that needs to revisited, and ironically is thematically still a relevant topic today,”.
Presumably Chen is also stated in previous rumors to be a part of John Wick 2, so official trade reports are still pending. In the meantime, Kung Fu Cowboy will commence early next year while fans can expect to catch Chan in the role of Bruce Lee opposite Donnie Yen in Ip Man 3 this Christmas.
Stay tuned for more info!