Some odd decisions have been made by Pegasus Motion Picture, the studio behind the upcoming threequel of the 2008 Hong Kong semi biographical martial arts film, “Ip Man”.
Instead of casting a young actor to portray the younger version of the late Bruce Lee, the studio announced that a computer graphics (CG) Bruce Lee will be featured in “Ip Man 3”.
“Ip Man” is a Hong Kong film loosely based on the life of Yip Man, a Chinese martial arts legend who popularised the practice of Wing Chun. Born and raised in China, Yip Man developed the concept-based Chinese martial art which specialises in close-range combat. In 1949, he moved to Hong Kong and opened his schools of Wing Chun. Kung-fu icon Bruce Lee, who died in 1973 from a brain aneurysm, was one of his most famous pupils.
Bruce’s backstory will be briefly introduced in the 3rd “Ip Man” film as he will appear as a young pupil of Yip Man. However, according to THR, the film’s producers resorted to use CG to re-create Lee’s intensity onscreen as they failed to find a suitable actor to portray the Kung-fu icon.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson will also appear in the film alongside the CG Bruce Lee. He is joining the cast of “Ip Man 3” as a property developer, who is also a street fighter.
He said in a statement:
Who is the best boxer and Kung-fu master in China? Wait for me, I am coming. Thank you for introducing me to Chinese Kung-fu.
Pegasus chairman and “Ip Man 3” producer Raymond Wong told THR that it was a comment on Tyson’s Weibo account that gave him the idea to feature the former boxing champion in the film.
He said:
2 years ago Mike Tyson opened up a Weibo account and the first question he asked was, “Who is the best fighter in China?” Someone answered him “Donnie Yen, ” and that gave me an idea.
Raymond further revealed that “an explosive fight” between Tyson and the martial arts legend, Donnie Yen is expected to be featured in the 3rd instalment in the “Ip Man” series.
Donnie Yen (甄子丹) was not the only actor to have portrayed Yip Man in a movie. The Chinese martial art legend was portrayed by Hong Kong famed actors Tony Leung Ka-fai (梁家辉) and Anthony Wong (黃秋生) in Wong Kar Wai’s “The Grandmaster” and Herman Yau’s “Ip Man: The Final Fight” respectively. Despite being released in the same year, both films received much praises from the critics for their portrayals of Yip Man.
Since the “Ip Man” fad has died down a bit, producer Raymond Wong felt that it is time to bring the titular character back to the silver screen.
He said:
The audience suffered Ip Man fatigue for a while, but the waves of Ip Man films has calmed down now, so now is the time to present our 3rd instalment.
Wilson Yip is returning to helm “Ip Man 3” and the principal photography begins today (25th March) in Shanghai, China. Wilson is reuniting with producer Raymond Wong and writer Edmond Wong to produce the threequel, which is tentatively scheduled for release in 3D in the first quarter of 2016.
(Source: THR / Featured image)
