The Man with the Iron Fists is Wu-Tang Clan co-founder RZA's feature-length debut as a director, and has been described as a hybrid of "Kung Fu with a Spaghetti Western mindset and a hip-hop influence."

RZA's project is essentially the musician/producer/author/actor/filmmaker's love-letter to English-dubbed, martial arts film imported from Hong Kong, dating back to the early 1970s. Quentin Tarantino has already gone on record about how integral RZA's vast knowledge of the Kung Fu genre was to informing his Kill Bill movie saga (which RZA helped develop, in addition to composing music for).

Man with the Iron Fists stars RZA as the titular character, a blacksmith who arms the members of a village in feudal China against enemy invaders. The screenplay was co-penned by RZA and Eli Roth (Hostel), which has long been interpreted as assurance that Man with the Iron Fists will feature plenty of blood-splatter martial arts violence. RZA's flick should also boast some impressive fight choreography - being handled by Jet Li's frequent collaborator, Corey Yuen (the action coordinator on Iron Fists) - and cinematography, courtesy of Chi Ying Chan, a 15-year veteran of the martial arts genre, with films like Tokyo Raiders and DOA: Dead or Alive under his belt.

For proof: check out the first, literally eye-popping, image of RZA from The Man with the Iron Fists (unveiled on his Twitter account):

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rza man iron fists image

This gory screenshot from Man with the Iron Fists serves as an appetizer for the main course, in the form of a trailer (due to premiere online later this week). Such early footage is also expected to showcase some of the film's supporting players in action - including Oscar-winner Russell Crowe, Lucy Lui (Elementary), Jamie Chung (Sucker Punch), Blaxploitation icon Pam Grier, and professional wrestler Dave Bautista. Be sure to keep an eye on the Screen Rant main page for that trailer.

The Man with the Iron Fists is currently without an official U.S. theatrical date - though, there have been rumors about a December 21st release, where it would face-off against Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher. We'll be sure to keep you updated on the situation.

Source: RZA