This week, Marvel Cinematic Universe star Simu Liu got Sleeping Dogs fans excited when he tweeted to say he was working with the rights holders to bring the much-loved video game to the big screen.
It turns out things are a little further ahead than that. A source close to the project has told IGN that the Sleeping Dogs movie is in development, and we’re hearing Simu Liu, who plays Shang-Chi in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, is producing and set to play the lead role of Wei Shen.
IGN has asked Square Enix for comment.
Sleeping Dogs was first released in 2012 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC and tells the story of detective Wei Shen as he infiltrates one of Hong Kong’s notorious Triad crime syndicates. While it failed to meet publisher Square Enix’s lofty sales expectations, it is much-loved by fans and sequel hopes have followed it ever since.
The original adaptation was announced in 2017 with Donnie Yen set to star, but the film disappeared a year later and, just a few weeks ago, Yen himself confirmed it had been scrapped.
“I spent a lot of time and did a lot of work with these producers, and I even invested some of my own money into obtaining the drafts and some of the rights,” Yen told Polygon.
“I waited for years. Years. And I really want to do it. I have all these visions in my head, and unfortunately… I don’t know, you know how Hollywood goes, right? I spent many, many years on it. It was an unfortunate thing. Well, on to better things.”
So when Liu tweeted to say he was working to make the Sleeping Dogs movie a reality, there was a degree of confusion among fans. Liu himself followed up with another statement that added fuel to the fire, and even revealed his intention to help bring a Sleeping Dogs video game sequel to life.
“So few film projects make it from pitch phase to greenlight,” he said. “Pitching execs who don’t understand the game has been tiring. Everyone’s overwhelming love of Sleeping Dogs here has really given us life!
“First a movie, then a sequel game for everyone… that’s always been the dream.”
IGN can reveal that Story Kitchen is leading the Sleeping Dogs live action feature film project, with Square Enix the rights holder in question. Story Kitchen has form when it comes to video game adaptations, having worked on everything from the Sonic the Hedgehog films to Netflix’s animated Tomb Raider series. It’s currently working on the upcoming Streets of Rage adaptation and an adaptation of It Takes Two for Amazon.
Last year, Story Kitchen announced a film adaptation of Square Enix’s Just Cause, with Blue Beetle director Ángel Manuel Soto signed on. IGN understands the Sleeping Dogs project has a writer and major filmmaker attached to the project, but there’s no release date or word on when production will begin just yet.
The movie marks a significant revival for Sleeping Dogs, which saw its video game sequel canceled in late 2013 before it entered production, and its original developer, United Front Games, shut down three years later. Now, over a decade later, Sleeping Dogs could finally be set for a wake-up call.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
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