George Nolfi to Direct Bruce Lee Gangster Film 'Birth of the Dragon'

About a year ago we learned there was a new Bruce Lee film on the way, but not just any old Bruce Lee film, this would be the start of a new action franchise centered on the legendary martial artist and international superstar. The film was titled Birth of the Dragon and had an impressive duo of screenwriters in Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen Rivale (Ali, Nixon), and while the film has yet to secure someone to play Lee (good luck with that), a director has been found in George Nolfi.

Nolfi last directed Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in The Adjustment Bureau, and he'll take the helm of a film that will take a real life event in Bruce Lee's life, that of his 1965 battle with Kung Fu master Wong Jack Man, and use it to launch a story of the two men battling against Chinese Triads. The story will be told from the perspective of Steve Macklin, one of Lee's disciples.

What sounded potentially awful has piqued my interest with Nolfi coming aboard. Obviously, a lot of it is going to depend on who they find to play Lee. Filming on Birth of the Dragon begins next spring.