By Mark Pollard | Published December 1, 2009

Chinese media reports that action director Yuen Woo-ping has signed up with Chinese video game publisher Beijing Perfect World to direct a new, 200 million yuan ($29 million) feature film adaptation of Louis Cha’s wuxia novel “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.” The translated title is tentatively called NEW SWORDSMAN.

Cha’s serialized novel first appeared in Hong Kong newspaper “Ming Pao” in 1967. It was first adapted into the Shaw Brothers film THE PROUD YOUTH (1978) and later by Tsui Hark in his blockbuster SWORDSMAN trilogy that includes THE SWORDSMAN (1991), SWORDSMAN II (1992) and THE EAST IS RED (1993).

No casting has been confirmed but Yuen reportedly wants Takeshi Kaneshiro for the lead role of Linghu Chong (previously played by Jet Li in SWORDSMAN II), Zhou Xun as Ren Ying-ying (previously Rosamond Kwan) and Jay Chou as Dongfang Bubai, also known as Asia the Invincible (previously Brigitte Lin).

Like most of Cha’s stories, the plot is complicated so I’ll just quote Wu-Jing.org’s translation so as not to muddle up the story any more than it already is.

Described as a unique all-new wuxia film with radical visuals, the story traces Linghu Chong’s exploits when he gets accused and expelled by his master for stealing Lin family’s Bixie Swordplay Manual after mastering Lonesome Nine Sword Techniques, a peerless form of fencing that counters any other skills by means of spotting and striking at opponents’ vulnerabilities, that a reclusive Huashan elder Feng Qing Yang imparted to him in secret.

Founded in 2004, Beijing Perfect World is best known as the publisher of a series of popular MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) including their first title PERFECT WORLD and JADE DYNASTY, a fantasy MMO released in North America back in June. The company began producing feature films and TV dramas in 2009 with the release of series NEWCOMERS TO THE MIDDLE-AGED and their first feature film SOPHIE’S REVENGE, starring Zhang Ziyi.

Yuen Woo-ping recently returned to solo feature film directing after a 13-year hiatus where he had stuck to directing action for other filmmakers. That is until this year when he directed the kung fu actioner TRUE LEGEND which is scheduled for release in February, 2010.

Production on NEW SWORDSMAN is scheduled to begin no later than February, 2010.

Source: Monkeypeaches, Xiamen News via Wu-Jing.org

Related Topics:
Louis Cha  •  New Swordsman (2010)  •  upcoming  •  Wuxia  •  Yuen Woo-ping