Donnie Yen has unearthed a CG animated video that pits him against Bruce Lee. Yen first rose to prominence as an action star with the Ip Man trilogy, the first of which premiered in 2008. The mixed martial artist continued to make films in Hong Kong, although now he alternates between making action films in the West as well, including big-budget blockbusters like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.
Bruce Lee is perhaps the most famous martial arts star in cinema history, even though his time working in the industry was tragically cut short. Born in San Francisco and raised in Hong Kong, Lee founded the discipline of Jeet Kune Do and acted in films starting from his childhood. He did much to shape the way martial arts was presented in cinema, but before his death at the age of 32 in 1973 he had only made 5 major films that hit the U.S. in addition to starring in several television series, most notably playing Kato in The Green Hornet.
On his Instagram, Donnie Yen shared a CG animated video showing himself training in the gym and fighting a phantom Bruce Lee. In addition to being an awesome display of animated martial arts pitting two greats against each other in an impossible fantasy match, it's also a sweet tribute to the martial arts legends who shaped today's action stars. The 3-minute short that Yen unearthed is titled "A Warrior's Dream" and was independently produced in 2014 by Jin LI, an animation teacher. Check out the video below:
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Donnie Yen's next film will be John Wick: Chapter 4, the latest chapter in the Keanu Reeves-led action franchise about a global underworld of assassins. He will star alongside Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Bill Skarsgård, Scott Adkins, and Clancy Brown. Production on that film wrapped in October after beginning in Europe in June.
A major reason Donnie Yen was cast in John Wick is the legacy he already holds within the world of martial arts cinema. His influence is so pervasive that he even discovered a nearby restaurant served an "Ip Man Burger" when he was shooting in Berlin this summer. Although he and Bruce Lee are obviously very different people, the way that Yen's career has gone reflects the future that Lee might have had in the industry, which is a very gratifying sight and makes this animated video even more poignant and meaningful.
Source: Donnie Yen