You down for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan hanging out together in the same movie? Hopefully so, as that is exactly what is happening thanks to the Russian-Chinese fantasy adventure Viy-2. Schwarzenegger and Chan have joined the cast of the sequel to the 2014 box office smash in mystery roles, Varietyreported Wednesday.
The film, a sequel to the 2014 hit Viy 3D, sees Jason Flemyng (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) reprising his role as 18th century English explorer Jonathan Green. After getting an order from Peter the Great to map out the Russian Far East, Green eventually finds himself in China. "The cartographer will face many breathtaking discoveries, encounter bizarre creatures, meet with Chinese princesses, and confront deadly martial-arts masters and the Dragon King," a statement to Varietypromised.
The 2014 original, based on 19th century writer Nikolai Gogol's novella, bagged $34.6 million at the box office. That number was good enough to earn Viy 3D the distinction of being the highest-grossing (local Russian) movie of the year. The sequel, subtitled Journey to China: The Iron Mask Mystery, is described byTHR as Russia's "biggest-budget co-production" in history and is expected to hit theaters next year.
Schwarzenegger recently lamented his inability to become President of the United States, a title which would surely have complicated his schedule to the point of not being able to do huge-ass movies like Viy-2. "If I'd been born in America, I would've run," Schwarzenegger, a former California governor, toldAdweek. "Because now? This was a very good time to get in the race." Oooookay. But it's an even better time to star in a movie with Jackie Chan, don't you think?
