By: John M Jerva

Filipino filmmaker Pedring Lopez, who is best known for the delicious Netflix actioner Maria, is charging ahead this year with his BlackOps and Psyops8 production banners as he is teaming with the U.S. and Hong Kong for an ambitious slate of new films and shows. This new alliance is looking to take advantage of the future of streaming with an array of high-octane projects that will come out of Asia to satisfy the needs of an ever hungry fan base.

Variety brought the exclusive word yesterday that BlackOps is partnering with U.S. based Story Arch Pictures and Agog Film out of Hong Kong to assemble of slate of 16 films and shows that will be tailor made for streaming platforms.

BlackOps will shoulder most of the load with 11 projects in development while Story Arch will dish out two to go along with three from Agog. Lopez and company will be rolling out the lineup during the EFM.

There are 16 upcoming projects in all with nine films and seven series to look out for in the action, sci-fi and horror genres.

“Three of our 11 titles will shoot in Hong Kong, one in the U.K. and other between the Philippines and Indonesia,” said Lopez. He acknowledged the growing challenge of making films in Hong Kong due to a changing political climate, but said that the territory can still be a hub for uncontroversial titles in the action and horror genres. “Hong Kong is still iconic, especially for action and suspense genres and we’d want to make use of Hong Kong and mainland stars.”

The report in Variety also sheds more light on both Story Arch and Agog and what they will be bringing to the table in terms of genre entertainment.

Story Arch, which will represent the entire slate in the U.S., is headed by Jason Lin, an executive who has previous experience at China’s Alibaba Pictures and Jet Li Studios and at investment bank Morgan Stanley. The company’s mission is to focus on character-driven action film and TV series inclusive of the Asian diaspora. Its two films in the joint slate, “Fortress” and “V,” are both by writer-producer Dwain Worrell (Marvel’s “Iron Fist,” “FBI: Most Wanted”).

Agog spans both production and finance and includes executives Guy Orlebar and veteran production specialist Mike Leeder (“Triple Threat”). Its three projects in the slate are “Spider Hill” and “Vicious,” by screenwriter-producer Steve Tymon (“Ring of Fire,” “Death Match”), and “Sagramanda” from writer Alan Dean Foster (“Star Trek: The Motion Picture”).

Lopez and his BlackOps banner will be dishing out “Noriko” which is a Hong Kong-set zombie film that will shoot exteriors in Hong Kong and relocate to the Philippines for interiors and studio work.”

Also on the plate for Lopez is Sellblock which is described as “a prison-set action drama that is one of the first titles to emerge from BlackOps stable and is now in pre-production.” There is also the supernatural gangster flick The Reaper which is being touted as “a prison-set action drama that is one of the first titles to emerge from BlackOps stable and is now in pre-production.”

All I know is veteran actor and martial artist Mark Strange (Avengement) is involved in this collaboration which is teased in the above photo so I’m definitely onboard with anything he and Lopez does for that matter. Strange will be seen next in the dystopian action-thriller Rupture from director Ranjeet S Marwa which should be hitting sometime in 2022.

This all bodes well for fans of genre niche entertainment as the platform for releasing material is ever changing in this current climate. Lopez has always been a trendsetter in the industry and now this cements his stake in the competitive field of filmmaking.

Stay tuned and keep it locked and loaded right here for more details to drop as we are your destination for everything action in 2022 and beyond!

In the meantime, check out Lopez’s Maria below and see what’s in store for a bright future!

Source: Variety