Deadline (via SFFGazette.com) reports that writer and producer Jason Ning is developing a small screen take on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for Sony Pictures Television. If his name seems familiar, it's probably because he was recently tapped to serve as co-executive producer on Marvel's Silk: Spider Society with showrunner Angela Kang.
It's said that Ning will adapt Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the other four novels in Wang DuLu's Crane Iron Pentalogy, published between 1938 and 1944, which chronicle the struggles of four generations of youxia, a type of ancient Chinese warrior folk hero.
We doubt you need us to tell you that the story was previously brought to the big screen by Ang Lee in what ended up being an Oscar-winning hit. This series, however, gives Sony the chance to tell the story in much greater detail, and the studio is keen to move forward with this small screen take after recently regaining the rights to the property through its deal with Vertigo.
Roy Lee and Miri Yoon from that studio are attached as executive producers, as is Johnny Levin.
Ning's past credits include shows like Lucifer, The Expanse, and Perception, but his involvement in Silk, one of the many characters from Spider-Man's world owned by Sony and the first of them to come to television, is what's generated so much buzz around the filmmaker. Other projects he has on the way include Mrs. Davis and The Brothers Sun.
A sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was released on Netflix in 2016 titled Sword of Destiny. Michelle Yeoh was the only original cast member to return for that, while the first movie's action choreographer, Yuen Woo-ping, stepped in to direct. It didn't receive a particularly positive response from critics and was actually shot in English before later being dubbed into Mandarin.
It's unclear what direction this TV series will take, though we'd imagine it will be respectful and faithful to the books. There's no word on a creative team or cast at this stage as it's still early days.
As always, you'll want to stay tuned to SFFGazette.com for the latest updates.