This week the planned film adaptation for the 2012 China-set action game, Sleeping Dogs, has been cancelled according to the film’s planned lead Donnie Yen.
It appears the film adaptation based on the 2012 fan-favourite title, Sleeping Dogs, is no more. In a Polygon interview with actor Donnie Yen (the planned lead actor for the film before cancellation), the actor admitted the film has been cancelled. The film was announced way back in 2017, and since the initial announcement it has been radio silence from Original Film and DJ2 Entertainment (who were set to produce the film).
Sleeping Dogs is an open world sandbox title featuring an ex-homicide detective with memory loss who must uncover the truth surrounding the killing, while uncovering key details surrounding his past in Honk Kong. Yen was set to star as the film version of protagonist Wei Shen, who is tasked with bringing down the Sun On Yee triad.
Donnie Yen lamented the planned film, saying “I spent a lot of time and did a lot of work with these producers, and I even invested some of my own money into obtaining the drafts and some of the rights,” continuing with “I waited for years. Years. And I really want to do it. I have all these visions in my head, and unfortunately… I don’t know, you know how Hollywood goes, right? I spent many, many years on it. It was an unfortunate thing.” Yen then concluded with “Well, on to better things.”
The Sleeping Dogs adaptation has seen virtually no updates since its initial announcement, aside from Donnie Yen suggesting the film was still in the works in 2018, and seven years without any official update is a long time for audiences to wait. Donnie Yen remains active as an actor, and his latest project, The Prosecutor —a courtroom drama where an innocent man is charged with drug trafficking— can be found in theatres today.
