From the Set of IP MAN 2 - Sammo Hung vs. Donnie Yen + Yen Said IP MAN 3 Not Likely and He Will not Retire at 50Filming of
Ip Man 2 is currently under way in Shanghai. Yesterday the set was open to the press for a day.
At the end of the first installment of the
Ip Man series, Ip Man defeated the Japanese general and narrowly escaped to Hong Kong with his family.
In the beginning of the sequel, the story will focus on how he settle the difference between his Wing Chun and another house of martial-art, Hung.
What reporters witnessed is a scene, in which Ip Man (Donnie Yen) making an unexpected visit to the house of Hung and having a showdown with the grand master of Hung (Sammo Hung). Yen and Hung already had an on screen fight in
S. P. L.. Both the
Ip Man series and
S. P. L. are directed by Wilson Yip.
The sequel will be made with the original crew, including director Wilson Yip, writer Edmond Wong and action director Sammo Hung.
Donnie Yen returns as Ip Man, alone with Xiong Dailin as his wife, Fan Siu-Wong as master Jin Shan Zhao (Ip's rival in the first film and friend in the second), Simon Yam as Ip's best friend Zhou Qingquan, Lam Ka-Tung as ex-policeman Li Zhao.
New cast member includes Sammo Hung playing the grandmaster of Hung, and three actors from the mainland China, TV and movie star Huang Xiaoming, martial-art star Shi Xiaolong and young actor Jiang Daiyan (playing the young Bruce Lee). Other new cast members are, according to IMDB, Kent Cheng, To Yu-Hang and Amber Chia. The studios are still looking for a man to play the adult Bruce Lee.
Budget of
Ip Man 2 is about US$15 millions, more than double of that of the original. The money is collectively shared by Hong Kong's Mandarin Films and eight mainland Chinese companies, Henan Film & TV Production Group Corporation Ltd., Beijing ShengShi HuaRui Film Investment & Management Co., Ltd., Foshan Media Group, Desen International Media Co., Ltd., Donloard Skykee Movie Investment, Dong Yang Teng Yuan Film, TV and Media Co., Ltd., Beijing Bai Run Xing He Entertainment Media Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen Hai Gu Chi Investment Co., Ltd., with Henan FIlm & TV production Group Corporation Ltd. as the biggest shareholder.
During the visit, Yen had tried to clarified two things. One,
Ip Man 3 would be unlikely to happen. He believes
Ip Man 2 would be more successful than the first one and would become an instant classic. It would be a good idea to end it at the best point. However, the studios may disagree. Two, Donnie Yen, turned 46 this year, said he would not retire at age 50. A few months back, he told The New York Times that he had begun planning to retire at 50. However, according to Yen, he said those words right after he finished Bodyguards and Assassins and 14 Blades, and felt very exhausted back then. Now he has regained his energy and feels excited about more projects. After
Ip Man 2, he will begin working on
Chen Zhen the Nocturnal Hero (literal title) with director Andrew Lau and the sequel to the yet to be released
14 Blades. In
Chen Zhen the Nocturnal Hero, he will play the character previously portrayed by Bruce Lee in
Fist of Fury and Jet Li in
Fist of Legend.
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