Updates: New Images For Lopez’s SELLBLOCK Revealed, Attaches Yayan Ruhian To Actioner JI
Filmmaker Pedring Lopez is getting a double dose of updates from a few projects. First up is a batch of stills from Sellblock, a new crime drama series which Lopez also produced via BlackOps Studios Asia, and Psyops8.
Jericho Rosales (Basurero, Siargao, Pacquiao: The Movie) stars in the series which chronicles the activities of one of Asia’s biggest drug empires operating from inside a Philippines maximum-security prison. The cast also includes Empoy Marquez, Ronnie Lazaro, Mon Confiado, Maria Isabel Lopez, Ria Atayde, and Jaclyn Jose.
Deadline covered the show when international sales agent Blue Fox took the show to MIPTV back in April:
“Sellblock is more than just a series,” said Rosales. “It’s an immersive experience that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Working alongside such a talented team has been an absolute privilege, and I can’t wait for viewers to see the magic we’ve created.”
Lopez directed all eight episodes for what is expected to be the first of three seasons. A premiere date remains pending.
Also in store as of Wednesday evening is female-led action feature Ji, which has Indonesian action stalwart Yayan Ruhian (The Raid 1 & 2, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Boy Kills World) as the first announced to cast with more pending. Set to shoot in South Korea and parts of Southeast Asia, Ji tells of “the head of a Korean crime syndicate who travels to the Philippines to rescue her kidnapped mother and finds herself in the crossfire of rival gangs.”
Ji reunites Lopez’s BlackOps Studios Asia with his Blood Passage partners at Singapore’s Very Tay Media. Asia Media Alliance’s John Radal (Monkey Man) will serve as director of photography, as well as produce. Very Tay’s Alaric Tay is also producing next to Rex Lopez for Black Ops Studios Asia and PsyOps8, Hoo Wee Tay for Asia Media Alliance, and Hong Kong-based Mike Leeder, according to Screendaily.
Lopez’s past projects had a few stumbles as a result of the pandemic, namely a sequel to Maria starring Cristine Reyes and which would have also brought on fellow Indonesian martial arts star Cecep Arif Rahman. The same goes for Ruhian who was also tapped to join a sequel to Cambodian action hit, Jailbreak, also sidelined by pandemic constraints.
Ruhian has since also appeared in Ben & Jody, Malaysian epic Mat Kilau, superhero epic Satria Dewa Gatotkaca, Ashiap Man, Netflix series “Who Is Erin Carter?,” and upcoming action thriller ensemble, The Furious. He will next reprise his role in the Skyline franchise with Liam O’Donnell’s fourth installment, Skyline: Warpath, from XYZ Films.
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