Shang-Chi 2 may be a ways off, but in the meantime, Simu Liu is looking to bring his martial arts skills over to a Sleeping Dogs movie.
Recently, Liu’s made clear his desire to give the 2012 action-crime game a film adaptation that never manifested when it first came out. According to IGN, those dreams may become a reality, as the MCU star is reportedly teaming with Square Enix on a film: not only playing police detective Wei Shen, but coming on as a producer. At time of writing, a director and writer aren’t attached, and it’s unclear how far along things are. But if you’re someone who still carries a torch for the game and its would-be film, this is pretty exciting for you. Despite crime and action movies being consistently popular, Liu noted it’s been a bit of a struggle to make this happen in Hollywood: on January 31, he called it “tiring” to pitch the film to “execs who don’t understand the game. But everyone’s overwhelming love of Sleeping Dogs has given us life!”
And if things really go well? Liu hopes the film leads to another game getting made.
If you didn’t play Sleeping Dogs when it came out, think “GTA in Hong Kong.” In the game developed by United Front and originally part of the True Crime series, players take on the role of Wei as he infiltrates the Sun On Yee triad to bring it down from within. At the time, the game’s big hook was a focus on martial arts over guns—think Batman: Arkham combat—and missions built around his loyalty to either the triads or the police. It got a solid reception, and United Front was developing a sequel that would’ve seen players split time between playing Wei and a dirty cop named Henry Fang. It was canceled, and United Front shut down in 2016.
As for the movie? That was first announced back in 2017 with Donnie Yen set to play Wei, and he revealed to Polygon back in January his own efforts to make it happen. Liu hasn’t forgotten that, and should things work out, he hopes to involve both Yen and Will Yun Lee, Wei’s voice actor in the game, involved in some capacity. (By that same token, he wants Lee back as Wei for a sequel game of any kind.) Regardless of whether the film happens or not, seems a good time as any to try and play Sleeping Dogs (which frequently goes on sale) in the next few years.
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