Donnie Yen Holding Out Hope For Sleeping Dogs Movie Adaptation

Donnie Yen offers an update on the long-gestating movie adaptation of Sleeping Dogs and his hopes to finally get the project off the ground. The action-adventure video game first began development as part of the True Crime series before ultimately being canceled by the franchise’s rights holder Activision, though would subsequently be revived at Square Enix as an original project. The game put players in the shoes of Wei Shen, an undercover Chinese-American police officer on assignment to infiltrate the Sun On Yee Triad organization in Hong Kong, all set in an open world that allowed players the opportunity to engage in legal and criminal activities.

Released in 2012, Sleeping Dogs was a hit for Square Enix, selling over 1.5 million copies and receiving generally positive reviews from critics and gamers alike. A sequel was first put into development shortly after the game’s release, though would later be canceled before entering production. Development on the Sleeping Dogs film first began in 2017 when Yen, riding the successes of both Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, set to star as Shen though has since struggled to get going.

While chatting with Collider for his latest action-thriller Raging Fire, Yen opened up about the long-awaited adaptation of Sleeping Dogs. Though unable to get any firm updates on the project, Yen confirmed it is still in development and he is still attached to co-produce and star, but that deciding on whether to go for a strict adaptation of the game or a more original take is currently holding up the film. See what Yen had to say below:

“I’m still hopeful. I mean, every day they tell me it’s going to happen. I’m co-producing and collaborating with [producers] Neil Moritz and Toby [Ascher], with their company, and currently talking with a couple of big platforms. And they tell me every single day it’s going to happen, so we’ll see. Like I said, I believe in destiny. So, if it’s going to happen, hopefully, it will happen the first half of next year. We’re probably gonna’ make more of a modern, updated version of Sleeping Dogs.”

Though not as popular as Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto franchise, the Sleeping Dogs game has developed a large following in the near decade since its release and is far more suitable for a film adaptation than the former. Yen’s attachment to the project sent anticipation soaring for the movie, though its frequent starts and stops have left many wondering whether the film should be made at all at this point. It is honorable to see Yen still so incredibly dedicated to bringing the game to life on screen, especially as he hold the rights to the property and is consistently in talks with his fellow producers.

It is interesting to note that the current holdup for Sleeping Dogs stems from the indecision of whether to take a direct adaptation approach to the game or create an original story with elements borrowed. This approach has always proven divisive amongst fans of game franchises and led to a variety of critical responses, with films such as the Resident Evil franchise proving to be poorly received by players and critics alike while recent efforts such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Mortal Kombat have been met more favorably for their mixture of original storytelling and faithfulness to their source materials. With any luck, Yen will find the same balance of the two and deliver a film adaptation just as rewarding for fans of the game as newcomers.

Source: Collider

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Grant Hermanns
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Grant Hermanns is a News Writer, Interviewer and Hiring Manager for Screen Rant, having joined the team in early 2021. Way back in 2015 while still in his college days, Grant got his start in the entertainment journalism industry with creator-friendly site Moviepilot until it shuttered nearly three years later. From there he joined the staff at ComingSoon.net and was its Associate Editor prior to coming over to Screen Rant.

To say he’s a lover of film and television would be an understatement and when he’s not mass consuming either you can find him exploring the world of Dungeons & Dragons with friends or slowly making his way through his gaming backlog.

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