I know many will be disagree, particularly the fact that the production team is considering Jay Chou to star and to play as the legendary Bruce Lee. But facts and decisions are still yet to be confirmed. Don't assume what you are about to read as the final decision yet. In this stage, Ip Man 3 is still speculative as it is and should be treated as a discussion pre-production.
Mandarin Films Distribution, the film company behind the immensely popular martial arts films "Ip Man" and its sequel "Ip Man 2", has said through a spokesperson that discussions are underway to shoot " Ip Man 3 " with singer Jay Chou and Donnie Yen.
"The company would love to shoot ' Ip Man 3 ' with the original cast and crew. However, we will have to discuss the collaborative details with producer Raymond Wong to understand the situation, and if Jay Chou and Donnie Yen's names come up during our discussions, it would be the perfect team," said the spokesperson.
Hong Kong director Wilson Yip, who helmed the first two films, had revealed earlier in March that if he could shoot the third film, it would (like the films before it) be about the life of kung fu grandmaster Ip Man, but focus more on his relationship with his famous student, martial arts legend Bruce Lee.
According to Yip, " Ip Man 3 " would feature an older Ip Man, so Yen might be made to look much older and appear in fewer action sequences than the previous films.
Chou is also pegged to play Lee, as Yip mentioned last year that the superstar singer was a good candidate for the role.
Mandarin Films and director Yip may be supportive of the project, but "Ip Man" and "Ip Man 2" producer Raymond Wong, as well as Yen, who played the titular hero in both films, were less enthusiastic.
Speculation is rife that Wong had a falling out with Mandarin Films. He also expressed his reluctance to get involved in " Ip Man 3 ".
"Ideally, I do not want to start shooting [' Ip Man 3 '] this year or the next. There are so many 'Ip Man'-related films on the market; we should wait till the audience digest it all!" said Wong on Tuesday.
His reluctance was shared by Yen, who had repeatedly said that the first two "Ip Man" films were good enough and did not wish to make a third.
"A lot of people want to see me do ' Ip Man 3 ' but I don't want to do it in the near future. I will see how the script turns out before deciding," said Yen on Tuesday.
"If Jay Chou is chosen to play Bruce Lee, I think he should train with me for six months before shooting starts, so he can look convincing during kung fu action sequences."
This news excerpt is taken from Channel News Asia