HK actor Donnie Yen visiting Malaysia in January to promote new wuxia film

Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen was last in Kuala Lumpur in 2019 to promote 'Ip Man 4: The Finale'. Photo: MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star.

Donnie Yen has been busy this year, and he will be equally busy next year.

Besides appearing in the Hollywood action blockbuster John Wick: Chapter 4 (scheduled to hit theatres on March 24, 2023), the 59-year-old also has a Hong Kong action movie titled Sakra, out at cinemas on Jan 16, 2023.

Yen is not only Sakra's lead actor but also the director and producer, as it's a passion project of his.

And he’s coming to Malaysia to promote the actioner, which is based on best-selling series written by martial arts novelist Louis Cha, better known by his pen name Jin Yong.

The Raging Fire star is set to be in Malaysia on Jan 13 and 14 for a meet-and-greet session as well as to attend the movie premiere.

He last visited Kuala Lumpur in 2019 for another wuxia film, Ip Man 4: The Finale, which earned more than RM37mil at the Malaysian box office.

In Sakra, Yen plays martial arts master Qiao Feng – the protagonist in Cha’s 1963 book titled Demi-Gods And Semi-Devils.

Set during the Song Dynasty, which ruled China from 960 to 1279, the film centres on Qiao Feng becoming an outcast after he is wrongly accused of murdering some fellow martial artists.

Other cast members Sakra are action actor Wu Yue and actress Kara Wai.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Yen said that he envisions Sakra as the beginning of a franchise.

The Rogue One: A Star Wars Story star told the publication: “The older I get, the more I feel that if I commit to a project, it has to at least have the chance of being a really special film – something that can leave a mark and have a legacy.

“I feel like we achieved that with Ip Man; I’m really proud of those films. And I felt that maybe we could do something big and special in the wuxia genre with this one.”