Simu Liu, famous for being a viral stock model and for starring in Barbie, has revealed he is now working on making a Sleeping Dogs movie.
At first, he seemed to make a snappy retort to a fan who asked if Liu was interested in such a project:
“Working with the rights holders to bring Sleeping Dogs to the big screen!”
A few hours later, he replied to news of his tweet with this statement:
“A man who never eats pork bun is never a whole man.”
So we think it’s safe to say he’s a genuine fan of this game, and he’s serious about making it happen. He also made this statement about casting Winston:
“I have a Winston wish list for sure. His and Jackie’s arc was what made me realize how special the game was”
Now, in all earnest, we all know that Liu is most famous for being in Fresh Off The Boat, and as the lead in the MCU film Shang-chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Whether you liked that film or not, it was a critical and commercial success, and Liu confirmed that there were plans for a sequel in 2021, the same year it came out.
Without getting too deep into the weeds, MCU’s showrunners haven’t organized their schedules and projects properly, and that’s the reason that sequel hasn’t even gotten off the ground yet. The film’s director, Destin Daniel Cretton, is currently working on a fourth Spider-Man film, a Wonder Man show, and a Naruto movie, on top of the Shang-chi sequel.
While we have good reason to lament the end of that original Sleeping Dogs movie that would have starred Donnie Yen and would have been directed by Timo Tjahjanto, this project has its merits as well.
As a young star, and particularly someone active with the Asian American side of the entertainment industry, Simu Liu is best positioned to deliver a modern take on Sleeping Dogs’ premise, which itself flaunts its inspiration from the 1980s/1990s Hong Kong action film industry. He has the clout to not only bring in a fan pleasing cast, but big money to this endeavor.
Much like Ryan Reynolds did with Deadpool, Liu could take better control of his career as a lead star by producing original work for himself. And a successful Sleeping Dogs movie would compel Marvel to make their Shang-chi sequel a priority again.
So there’s a lot of reason to hope for the best for this project, even if you didn’t particularly like Liu’s appearance at last year’s The Game Awards. We think even the harshest gamers will be giving Liu his props if he succeeds in giving us the best Chinese crime drama film since Year of the Dragon, or City on Fire? At least better than Baby Bomb.
