Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon wasn't just another hit film for Sony back in 2000. It basically served as a gateway for a lot of people reluctant to watch foreign films, helping to push it to over $200M worldwide and some considerable Oscar love. So why no sequel? Turns out Sony and The Weinstein Company were in a battle over the rights to Wang Dulu's series of novels, and now that it's all been settled with Weinstein coming out on top, we can expect filming on a follow-up to begin very soon.
Deadline reports that filming on a sequel is set to begin in May, and will be based on the fifth book in the series, Silver Vase, Iron Knight. The story continues to follow Yu Shu Lien, who was played by Michelle Yeoh before. It also includes other characters from the previous film, but right now it's unclear if anybody will be reprising their roles. Ang Lee is not attached to the project at all, and instead it looks like Ronny Yu(Freddy Vs. Jason) is the guy being targeted to direct. The script comes courtesy of John Fusco(The Forbidden Kingdom), and fight choreographer Wo Ping Yuen is expected to return.
So how did ol' Harvey Weinstein get control of them? Turns out the family of Wang Dulu weren't happy with the compensation they received after the first film's success, and sought out a better offer elsewhere. Expect casting to get underway soon if they're going to hit that May target.
