Long before there was a Minecraft movie or sequel, Mortal Kombat or the entire Nintendo Cinematic Universe (NCU) exclusive movie trilogy, one of the most requested video game adaptations was Sleeping Dogs. And for a while it seemed like that might become a reality until things finally came to a standstill.
But fans of Hong Kong action games received an exciting update earlier this year when Simu Liu, best known as Shang-Chi from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, revealed that he was in discussions with rights holders to bring Sleeping Dogs to the big screen.
Fast forward to today, and Liu shared on social media that the first draft of a potential adaptation of the 2012 game is finally complete. Liu shared a screenshot of the script along with his sleeping dog.
There's still a lot unknown about sleeping dogs
Unfortunately, parts of the script have been blurred, including who wrote it and other key identifying information, especially who will star or direct. Either way, this represents a huge step forward for an adaptation that many thought was primarily DOA.
In a follow-up post, Liu noted that Square Enix was “absolutely awesome” at enforcing the rights, adding, “I don't think the studio understands how important this IP is, but we're going to make it happen.”
That last part is probably the film's biggest hurdle. We're in the golden age of video game adaptations, and with so many titles out there, be it movies, animated series, or TV shows, a Sleeping Dogs movie still needs a studio to support it, and while we have no idea which studio produced it, it's clear from Liu's own words that it was difficult to find someone provocative.
Considering there's an actual script, doing an adaptation is more than just a concept, so things could change pretty quickly. There is hope here.
- released
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August 14, 2012
- ESRB
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M Rated for adults 17+ due to blood and gore, intense violence, sexual content, strong language and drug use
- developer
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united front game
- engine
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Summer clothes
