One of the most highly anticipated action crime thriller video games is finally getting a live-action adaptation. And it’s all thanks to an MCU star. After years of starting and stopping, and with John Wick star and martial arts legend Donnie Yen fighting for years to get the project made before sadly walking away earlier this year, a script for Sleeping Dogs has now been written.
Released on everything from PlayStation to Xbox in 2012 courtesy of United Front Games and Square Enix, Sleeping Dogs takes inspiration from Hong Kong action and crime cinema, and particularly the Infernal Affairs trilogy, and follows an undercover cop who infiltrates the Sun On Yee Triad organization. Focusing on martial arts action, shoot-outs, and intense investigation, and essentially being an action movie wishlist, Sleeping Dogs is the sort of game that should slip effortlessly from pixels to live-action. But, somehow, it’s proven difficult to get it to the big screen.
Until now, that is. Marvel and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu has now stepped up to take on the lead in the Sleeping Dogs movie, taking to Instagram to reveal that a draft has now been written. Earlier this year, Liu revealed that he was “Working with the rights holders to bring Sleeping Dogs to the big screen!” Clearly, the MCU actor works fast.
A ‘Sleeping Dogs’ Movie Is Finally Happening
Following the initial tease from Simu Liu, fans were quick to offer their support for him in the leading role of Wei Shen, a former San Francisco Police Department officer who finds himself transferred to Hong Kong and tasked with infiltrating a particularly infamous Triad organization. No doubt those same fans will be celebrating at the news that we finally see the Sleeping Dogs saga take shape in live-action.
A Sleeping Dogs movie has been in the works for some time, with Star Wars and John Wick actor Donnie Yen working hard to make it so. Unfortunately, the action icon revealed back in January that his version of the project is now dead. “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. I waited for years. Years,” the Ip Man star said. “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.” Here’s hoping there’s a role for Yen in Liu’s take.
Simu Liu is best known for his role in the MCU, as well as the likes of Barbie, Kim’s Convenience, and Arthur the King. Alongside Sleeping Dogs, the actor has several major projects in the pipeline, including the two Avengers sequels, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, and the sci-fi spy thriller series The Copenhagen Test.