Cheang Pou Sui’s (鄭保瑞) 3D fantasy film The Monkey King <西游記之大鬧天宮> is a big box office success. Featuring Donnie Yen (甄子丹), Aaron Kwok (郭富城), and Chow Yun Fat (周潤發), the action-packed film earned an estimate 123 million RMB on its first day of release. It then crossed the 400 million RMB mark over the four-day Lunar New Year weekend, becoming the fastest film in Chinese history to gross over 400 million RMB. The Monkey King is a prequel adaptation of the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West <西游記>, a fantasy novel that chronicles the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk, Tang Sanzang. In The Monkey King, Donnie Yen stars as the novel’s main protagonist Sun Wukong, a monkey with supernatural powers. The Monkey King tells the story of Sun Wukong prior to his journey with Tang Sanzang on earth. Chow Yun Fat stars as the Jade Emperor, while Aaron Kwok stars as Sun Wukong’s accomplice, the Bull Demon King. Satisfied with the box office results, the film’s production studio, Filmko, is already working on developing a sequel for the The Monkey King. The Hong Kong media reported that the sequel will follow Sun Wukong’s journey on earth after he gets banished from the Heavens. Rumored to begin production in September, Filmko confirmed that a sequel is indeed planned, but it has not received the green light. The studio emphasized that its current focus is on the film’s box office, and that any plans for a sequel will have to come later. Donnie Yen also expressed his concerns for the film’s box office, while Aaron Kwok said that he lacked screen time with Chow Yun Fat in the film, and would like to work with him again. Louis Koo and Huang Xiaoming to Join Cast? Louis Koo (古天樂) made a surprise voice cameo at the end of the Cantonese version of The Monkey King, in which he said, “For 500 years, Sun Wukong waited for someone, and that someone is me.” Director Cheang Pou Soi confirmed that the cameo was meant to be a surprise, hinting that Louis Koo has been cast in the sequel to portray Tang Sanzang. In addition, Huang Xiaoming (黄晓明) is reportedly in negotiations to portray one of Tang Sanzang’s disciples Zhu Bajie, also known as “Pigsy”, in the sequel. Creds: QQ
