Bruce Lee’s unfinished passion project, The Silent Flute, is set to be adapted into a limited series. Lee first rose to fame in Hong Kong in the late 1960s, before kickstarting the martial arts film genre in America. Tragically, he passed away in 1973 at the age of 32, just as he was becoming a celebrity in America and around the world.
Despite losing Lee’s stunning talents at such an early age, today, few celebrities are as instantly recognizable as the late kung fu master. His films have been rereleased and remastered for new generations to explore, and without Lee’s influence, it’s arguable that neither the martial arts nor action genres would be what they are today. Even for those who haven’t seen Lee’s catalogue of kung fu films, Enter the Dragon has reached a classic status. Lee co-wrote the film with Michael Allin, and it was released just one month after Lee passed away from a cerebral edema. Today, there’s more than ever for Lee fans to explore, with everything from his films to memorabilia to video games and comic books available. But of course, what fans really want is a look at any footage or unfinished projects from the master.
At long last, it seems that fans will finally get their wish. According to a new press release from producer Jason Kothari, Lee’s unfinished passion project, The Silent Flute, will be turned into a limited series. The project was originally intended to be a film and was written over the span of five years by Lee, Oscar-winning writer, Stirling Silliphant, and Oscar-winning actor, James Coburn. At present, there is no release date confirmed, nor is there any information on where the limited series will air. John Fusco, who's currently tasked with writing the recently announced third Young Guns film, has been hired to develop the film script into the series. Speaking about the upcoming series and his ambitions for it, Kothari said:
It is both a privilege and responsibility to realize Bruce Lee’s greatest passion project, The Silent Flute. Despite it having been untouched for half a century, the story conveys groundbreaking themes for today, and my ambition is to do justice to the global icon’s powerful and inspiring cinematic vision. Having closely studied his life and career, I am committed to bringing together the best talent in the world to make The Silent Flute for millions of Lee’s fans and honor him.
The original plot of The Silent Flute takes place in a dystopian future in which mankind has suffered from pandemics, fires and civil wars. All methods of combat arts are also banned, yet within this awful environment comes a fighter who triumphs over a steady stream of obstacles to become the best fighter in the world. There seems to be more than enough here for a series, but ultimately its success will come down to how true to Lee’s original work the series is and how evocative of Lee’s memory its action elements are.
While it’s very exciting to know that a Lee passion project has been secured and will become a new limited series, it’s perhaps a little early to get too excited. After all, Kothari’s sole credit as a producer comes from the recent Vin Diesel bomb, Bloodshot. This isn’t to say that he can’t create something worthy of Lee’s memory with The Silent Flute, only that it’s worth keeping in mind that purchasing the rights to an icon’s passion project doesn’t bring that icon or his celebrated style back to life.
Source: Jason Kothari