Bingbing Li’s star continues to shine in North America, as Forbidden Kingdom continues to generate revenue both in the United States and internationally. According to Hollywood-stats website, The-Numbers.com, the movie has now soared past $88 million. According to China.org.cn, there is a rumor the producers would make a sequel only if the revenue broke $50 million. The existence of a sequel is also mentioned on Miss Li’s official website, LiBingbing.net (you will need to read Chinese to translate it).
To quote China.org.cn:
The overwhelming box-office success of the action-adventure flick “The Forbidden Kingdom” has prompted its producers to shoot a sequel.
Sources from the film’s Chinese investor and distributor, Huayi Brothers, said Tuesday they will once again collaborate with Hollywood for part two of the Jackie Chan-Jet Li film, the Beijing Times reported.
The two action heroes will appear in the follow-up film, together with actress Li Bingbing, who made her major Hollywood debut with “Forbidden Kingdom.”
The sequel is likely to feature a romance between Jet Li and Li Bingbing’s characters, the Beijing Times report says.
According to earlier rumors, Huayi Brothers president Wang Zhongjun said a sequel would be made if global revenue of “The Forbidden Kingdom” hit US$50 million.
The film raked in almost half that amount in its opening weekend in North America two weeks ago, topping the local box office with US$20.9 million. According to the Beijing Times, the US$70-million film has already broken even.
Pondering the Sequel’s Storyline:
Of interest in this article is the fact that there will be a romance between Bingbing Li’s characters — PLURAL! This begs a few questions: Is this a sequel or a prequel? Does this mean that the Monkey King is in love with the white witch? Or will Miss Li be coming back as another character?
But if this is a prequel, then does this explain the origins of the White Witch (Ni Chang) and why she wants immortality? Could she have been in love with the Monkey King? And could she have been in love with him and wanted immortality to be with him?
Or are we talking about an entirely different angle? If the story takes place after the current movie then it would be an interesting tale about the Monkey King’s journey as an immortal, falling in love with one woman only to see her die of old age, then living on to meet another woman that is a spitting image of the first love. Since both the Monkey King and the Drunken Immortal are, well, immortal, that would explain why both of them are in the same movie together again.
Well, we can all be rather happy whichever way the filmmakers craft the story. After all we get another chance to see Li Bingbing’s great acting and beauty on the screen again along with those two powerhouses, Jet Li and Jackie Chan. Congratulations and good luck to everyone involved! 