This week, excitement surged among fans of the beloved video game Sleeping Dogs when Marvel Cinematic Universe star Simu Liu announced on Twitter that he is collaborating with the rights holders to adapt the game into a feature film. The buzz intensified as a source close to the project revealed to IGN that the Sleeping Dogs movie is indeed in active development, with Liu not only producing but also slated to star as the protagonist, Wei Shen. IGN has reached out to Square Enix for further comment on this thrilling development.
Originally launched in 2012 across PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC, Sleeping Dogs immerses players in the gripping narrative of detective Wei Shen as he infiltrates a notorious Triad crime syndicate in Hong Kong. Despite failing to meet Square Enix's sales targets, the game has garnered a dedicated fanbase and sparked ongoing hopes for a sequel.
The journey to bring Sleeping Dogs to the big screen has been tumultuous. An earlier adaptation was announced in 2017 with Donnie Yen set to star, but the project vanished a year later. Yen recently confirmed to Polygon that the film had been scrapped, despite his significant personal investment and commitment to the vision.
Liu's announcement sparked some confusion among fans, prompting him to clarify his intentions. In a follow-up statement, he expressed the challenges of pitching to executives unfamiliar with the game and emphasized the fans' overwhelming support as a driving force. Liu's ultimate goal is ambitious: first, a movie adaptation, followed by a sequel to the original video game.
IGN can confirm that Story Kitchen, renowned for its work on video game adaptations such as the Sonic the Hedgehog films and Netflix’s animated Tomb Raider series, is spearheading the Sleeping Dogs live-action project. Currently, Story Kitchen is also involved in adapting Streets of Rage and It Takes Two for Amazon. They announced a film adaptation of Square Enix's Just Cause last year, directed by Ángel Manuel Soto of Blue Beetle fame. While the Sleeping Dogs movie has a writer and a prominent filmmaker attached, no release date or start of production has been disclosed yet.
The Sleeping Dogs movie represents a significant revival for the franchise, which saw its sequel canceled in 2013 and its developer, United Front Games, shut down in 2016. Now, more than a decade later, Sleeping Dogs is poised for a much-anticipated wake-up call on the big screen.
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