Back in September I posted an interesting rumor about Russell Crowe possibly starring in a kung-fu film directed by Wu-Tang Clan member RZA, whom Crowe co-starred with in American Gangster and The Next Three Days. It seemed pretty out there, but RZA announced the casting himself so it was not totally unfounded. I’m happy to say that recent news has, in fact, confirmed that Russell Crowe WILL be in The Man With the Iron Fists. You can find out the details, along with additional casting, after the jump!
According to Twitchfilm.com, The Man With the Iron Fist(s) (there’s some debate over whether the title has an “s” or not) will feature Lucy Liu (Kill Bill), Daniel Wu (Protege), Byron Mann (TV’s Dark Angel), former WWE wrestler Dave Batista, and Russell Crowe. The script was written by RZA and Eli Roth, and the film will be produced by Quentin Tarantino and the producing partners Eric Newman and Marc Abraham (Children of Men, Dawn of the Dead). RZA is not new to martial arts films: his first soundtrack work was Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and he’s also scored Kill Bill and episodes of Afro Samurai.
Why do I find this such exciting news? Big-budget kung-fu films are rarer than good westerns these days, and this production has some serious star power behind it. Plus, we all know that Crowe is a legit badass and it’ll be nice to finally see him kick someone’s ass or get his ass kicked (or both) in a film like this after seeing him in numerous serious dramas over the last decade.
The film will beginning shoot at the end of this month through February and is slated for a late 2011 release. Looks like I might have left this one off my most anticipated films of 2011 list!
What are your thoughts on such an odd casting decision? Let us know below!
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