'Sleeping Dogs' News: Donnie Yen Confirms Production Has Begun for Movie Adaptation
Hong Kong martial artist and "Star Wars: Rogue One" star Donnie Yen has confirmed that the movie adaptation of Square Enix's "Sleeping Dogs" has begun production.
Yen uploaded a picture on Instagram showcasing him in costume as Wei Shen, the protagonist of the original game, side-by-side with an image of Shen from the promotional art of the game.
"Sometimes great things take a bit of time," the action star wrote. "Sleeping Dog is motion, you guys ready for this?"
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A film adaptation for the open-world action game was first announced back in early 2017. At the time, the only things known about the film was that it would be produced by Neal Moritz, best known for producing the "Fast and the Furious" franchise as well as the television shows "Prison Break" and "The Big C," and would feature Donnie Yen, best known for "Ip Man" and now "Star Wars: Rogue One," as the lead role.
Since then, no real news has come out regarding the production or status of the film until Yen's Instagram post showcasing that, at the very least, the project is still very much alive and has finally started.
"Sleeping Dogs" tells the story of Wei Shen, a former San Francisco police officer who was transferred to Hong Kong and assigned to work undercover to infiltrate and destroy the Triad organization known as Sun On Yee. The game basically focuses on Shen trying to balance completing his mission as an officer while committing crimes to gain loyalty from the Triad.
Interestingly enough, the original game actually had a very star-studded voice cast including the likes of Emma Watson, Lucy Liu, and even had Will Yun Lee of the modern "Hawaii Five-O" as the voice of Shen.
It is currently unknown if the film adaptation will follow the plot of the original game, especially considering how the game averages at about 15 hours for the main missions alone.
Most film adaptations of games also have a poor reputation, so it will be interesting to see if the combined efforts of Moritz and Yen will be enough to make this one into a good movie.
