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I was thinking just the other day about what has transpired to Donnie Yen’s groundbreaking announcement last year for a sequel to one of his crowning achievements also known as Flash Point. Last May during the Cannes Film Festival saw international action star Donnie Yen taking over with not one but three major movie announcements. Yen is, to put it simply, on fire and his stock has never been higher than it is today. The innovative martial arts action star is knocking on the door of 60 but you’d never know it as he looks phenomenal, moves better than ever and is essentially a Time Machine that can kick and punch with rapid fire results.
Ip Man 5 was the biggest surprise seeing that the fourth film was called The Finale and Ip Man dying. Yen also publicly announced that the sequel would be his goodbye to Kung Fu films, but I guess when it’s a success, then you make more and fans of Yen and action cinema in general will never say no to more Ip Man as long as Yen is in the role.
The other big news that came out in May of last year was the aforementioned sequel to Yen’s MMA infused cop thriller Flash Point which is regarded a classic of the genre. The 2007 martial arts actioner was a master class in how to incorporate MMA techniques with extreme fight action and the final fight between Yen and co-star Colin Chou is one of those fights that you watch over and over again by itself and is heralded as one of the best fight scenes in history.
Now we all know that Flash Point is a prequel with Yen playing the doomed cop from SPL, so the question arises…how to do it. Will it be a sequel to the original or a prequel once again. Regardless, who really cares because the only thing that matters is that we are getting another MMA infused actioner titled Flash Point: Resurgence with Yen in control of everything. The teaser poster is lit as hell as it shows two combatants made out of stone locked in combat behind police tape. You may now scroll below to partake in it and then return to this article.
The other biggest thing that came out of all this was via social media and that was Yen calling out to fellow martial arts action star Scott Adkins who took on Yen in the rousing and fist pumping climatic fight in Ip Man: The Finale. Their long-awaited on-screen tussle was the stuff of legends and genre fans lost their minds when it happened, and it was essentially one of those pinch me moments to see two of martial arts action cinema’s biggest icons throwing down with severe ferocity and choreography from the master who is Yuen Woo Ping.
On an Instagram post showcasing the Flash Point sequel last year, Yen asked Adkins “U Joining?” to which Scott answered, “ready when you are!” Check out the photo evidence above!
Now it’s important to note that at the time of this writing, there has been no announcement to Adkins joining the movie in any capacity, but I live with the moniker of never say never. The sequel for Flash Point is set to film in April which is the same time Adkins is doing Kickboxer: Armageddon so scheduling might be the biggest enemy. It’s not a stretch to see actors do two movies at once. Hell, Dolph Lundgren filmed Expendables 4 and Aquaman 2 simultaneously for example so Adkins could certainly run a marathon depending on how much of a filming schedule he has for Armageddon.
The very thought of Scott Adkins taking on Donnie Yen for Round 2 in Flash Point: Resurgence would, without a doubt, be a grand slam for all involved, especially action fans everywhere. Last year’s exchange on social media between Scott and Donnie might lead some to believe that meetings have already taken place and that it’s just a matter of time before we all wake on day to the glorious news that not only is Flash Point: Resurgence finally on but that Adkins is on board. After all, we already know what a matchup between these two have looked like so can you imagine these two icons of action centering the ring with modern day MMA style battle choreography? My blood races just thinking of the very idea. This would undoubtedly make the sequel leaps and bounds better over the original (if that’s even possible) and bring a sense of electricity to the production.
Yen is also looking to helm the movie so you know the creative control would be something that we never see in Hollywood nowadays unless it’s an indie pic with no big studio behind it. Yen is a master at capturing fight action on film whether he’s involved onscreen or not and he knows what his fans want so giving him the keys to the car is always the best idea around.
Yen and Adkins certainly delivered in their altercation in Ip Man and while that fight was a more traditional Kung Fu heavy beatdown from Ping, it would be stellar to see the contrast of a more modern MMA scrap in Flash Point. Could you just imagine putting the two climatic fisticuffs side by side and dissecting them? After all, we know that both men are solid when it comes to adapting MMA into their films. Adkins relied heavily on it as Boyka in the Undisputed franchise while Yen showed it off in Flash Point as well as Special I.D. Just think of the possibilities and the potential.
For now, we wait impatiently. With cameras ready to roll in April, there should be more casting Intel to follow soon. Action cinema faithful deserve team ups like this to salivate over. Hopefully the stars will align and all will be right when said and done. For now, watch Yen and Adkins in a true master class on how to throw down onscreen from Ip Man 4: The Finale. You can never watch this one enough…
I prefer a face 2 face with Donnie Yen and Wu Jing