Aaron Kwok returns to play Monkey King

Hong Kong megastar Aaron Kwok has confirmed that he would star in the blockbuster "Monkey King" franchise.

Aaron Kwok returns to play the role of Monkey King in new film. [File photo]

A chapter in the 16th-century Chinese fantasy classic, "Journey to the West," will be adapted into "Monkey King 3: Women's Kingdom," depicting an exotic kingdom inhabited only by women. The woman ruler falls in love with the monk Tang Xuanzang, who was supposed to go from China to India to collect Buddhist sutras. Director Cheang Pou-soi will again helm the project.

Despite receiving mixed reviews, the previous two "Monkey King" movies produced by Filmko Entertainment made more than 1 billion yuan (US$150 million) each at the box office during the prime Spring Festival season.

Singer-and-actor Aaron Kwok, who played Bull Demon King in the first installment and Monkey King in the second, will reprise the role of Monkey King in the third. Kwok said he is fully prepared and will bring a stronger and more handsome Monkey King to the audiences.

Xuanzang will be played again by Feng Shaofeng. Comedy actor Shen He, better known by his stage name Xiao Shenyang, will also reprise his role as the pig demon Zhu Bajie while Him Law will again play Sha Wujing.

"Monkey King 3: Women's Kingdom," with a 500 million yuan (US$72.5 million) budget, had a nearly 1,000-member crew and will have 1,500 staffers working in post-production. The film crew have been filming scenery landscapes in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Taiwan, and have constructed two massive indoor sets in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. Due to the storyline, the film was also jokingly named "the film with the most female actresses" on the internet. The female lead has not been revealed yet.

The film will hit theaters for Chinese New Year in 2018 despite the fact that several other "Journey to the West" film adaptations are also on the way.