Marvel Comics great Stan Lee is to enter the Chinese film market by co-creating a new superhero movie character, Monkey Master.
According to Variety, Lee will work on the project with Liquid Comics’ Sharad Devarajan, with whom he created Indian superhero Chakra: The Invincible. While Chakra emerged as a 65-minute animated film on Cartoon Network India, Monkey Master is aiming higher: with backing from China’s Shinework Pictures and Graphic India, Lee and Devarajan are planning an international English-language blockbuster.
Lee said in a statement: “I have always been fascinated by the Chinese and Indian cultures which are so philosophical and rich in tradition and morality. Monkey Master will be unique in how it interweaves Chinese and Indian myth to create a hero that will entertain fans across the world with his martial arts skills and unstoppable superpowers.”
Devarajan added: “The story will take place between ancient and modern-day China and India as the myth of monkey warriors, known to both cultures, come together in the creation of a modern-day superhero.”
According to producers, no cast has yet been hired, but a “western director” is likely, with a shoot starting at the end of 2017.
The Monkey Master project follows the announcement that a “Kingsman-style” 70s-set biopic of Lee is being developed at 20th Century Fox.
