Sleeping Dogs Movie Not Happening Anymore, Donnie Yen Confirms

Sometimes everyone already knows what happened to a project, we just need someone to confirm it.

In 2017, it was announced that there would be a film adaptation of the open-world crime game Sleeping Dogs starring Donnie Yen, who enjoyed the success of films such as Ip Man and Rogue One. Director Timo Tjahjanto was also offered directwhich gives this project a real pedigree for anyone who loves hardcore Asian action films.

Unfortunately, since approximately 2018 almost all mentions of this film have disappeared. And now Polygon confirmed to Ian that this film is no longer in development.

“I spent a lot of time and a lot of work with these producers, and even put some of my money into getting the drafts and some of the rights,” Ian told Polygon. “I’ve been waiting for years. years. And I really wanted to do it… And, unfortunately… I don’t know, you know how things are in Hollywood, right?”

Ian calls it an “unfortunate event” but says he’s ready to move on to “better things.”

Sleeping Dogs was released back in 2012 and was developed by the now-defunct United Front Games and published by Square Enix. The open-world action game was essentially Grand Theft Auto in Hong Kong, with plenty of influence from Hong Kong crime movies like Infernal Affairs and Hard Boiled. Sleeping Dogs, starring undercover cop Wei Shen who infiltrates the local Triad, became something of a cult hit thanks to its combination of action, world design and an all-star cast (including Emma Stone and Lucy Liu). The Definitive Edition received a score of 8.5 according to our ratings. review.

Unfortunately, the sequel and planned spin-off Triad Wars never made it into production before United Front’s demise, and the film adaptation now joins the dormant series.

Luckily for Ian’s fans, he is very busy both at home and abroad. In addition to the action movie The Prosecutor, Yen was last seen in the US as the blind assassin Kane in John Wick: Chapter 4. Colliderin talks to star and direct Spin-off of the film “Kane”.

Matt Kim is a senior features editor at IGN.