Let’s file this under “Things I never asked for, but now that I’ve heard about them they sound really cool” (as opposed to “Things I never asked for and there’s a good reason for that, thank you very much“). The Weinstein Company is developing a sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon that’s based on Silver Vase, Iron Knight, the fifth book in Wang Du Lu‘s Crane-Iron series.
So why do I consider this good news and not “ugh, another unnecessary sequel”? Because the main character in Silver Vase, Iron Knight is Yu Shu Lien, the fierce warrior played by Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger.
So yeah, I’m on board with this.
The film’s been held up by a legal dispute over the rights to the source material, but now that Weinstein’s gotten that sorted production is expected to begin in May. Yeoh’s not signed at this point, and it’s worth noting that the sequel is being helmed by veteran Hong Kong director Ronny Yu, not Crouching Tiger director Ang Lee, which might impact which of the original cast will be back.
Writes Deadline, “Casting will get underway after the director signs, and for his part [writer John] Fusco expects a return from Wo Ping Yuen, the legendary fight choreographer responsible from the high wire action work in the original.”
Heck. Yes.
Says Yu of the sequel:
“This introduces a new generation of star-crossed lovers, and a new series of antagonists in a battle of good and evil. It has a Knights Errant quality. There is an alternate universe in the books, a martial forest that exists alongside the real world, full of wandering sword fighters, medicine men, defrocked priests, poets, sorcerers and Shaolin renegades. It’s so vast and rich, and I found characters from the second and third books in the series to create a most interesting stew while being as true to the source material as I could be.”
I don’t know about you, but this sounds amazing to me, and it makes me want to go rewatch Crouching Tiger post-haste.
(via: Deadline)
