It's been nearly thirteen years since the release of the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and a Thursday report said the Weinstein Company has scheduled the production start of a sequel to Ang Lee's wuxia film, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film as well as three other Academy Awards.
Production is reportedly set to begin in May, with Ronny Yu ("Warriors of Virtue," "Freddy vs. Jason") currently in negotiation to direct the film from a script by John Fusco ("The Forbidden Kingdom," "Young Guns"). Harvey Weinstein will produce the film. Ang Lee will not be involved in the sequel.
Just as with "Crouching Tiger," the new film is derived from the "Crane-Iron Pentalogy" by Wang Du Lu, who died in 1977. "Crouching Tiger" was the fourth book in the series; the sequel will be based on "Silver Vase, Iron Knight," which is the fifth book in the series. The new film will again focus on the character Yu Shu Lien, who was played by Michelle Yeoh in "Crouching Tiger."
Screenwriter Fusco said:
This [storyline] 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.
In addition to Best Foreign Language Film, "Crouching Tiger" won three other Oscars, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography. It was also nominated for six other Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
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