by: Chris Eaton source: Twitch
And the Devil has gone ice skating. Yep. It’s that cold in hell. Why? Because Tony Jaa has come out of his self imposed exile, and is going back to work making movies. In Thailand!
According to Twitch, Jaa is going back in front of the camera with director Prachya Pinkaew fight choreographer Panna Rittikrai and are going to be producing a sequel to arguably his best film. Tom Yum Goong (Aka the Protector). This is big as Pinkaew and Jaa had a falling out after the first TYG which led to Jaa directing and finally melting down on Ong Bak 2. That led Rittikrai to help finish Ong Bak 3. This all lead to Jaa having at it with the studio, Sahamongkol. The public out burst lead to rumors of voodoo and mob warfare between Jaa and the studio. Ultimately, the final outcome was two sub par films by Jaa and the man taking up being a monk in the forest of Thailand.
Smash cut to this week, and it seems that everything is magically better. Pinkaew and Jaa have made up, and they’re gonna film a new movie with Jaa sharing screen time with Rittkrai’s new star, Jija Yanin, of Chocolate fame.
This is big people. The few years now that Jaa has been gone have been obvious in the Thai film industry. While they have tried to make new stars, like Jija Yanin, none of them have quite found the same success as Jaa. Not only that, but the man is fucking gifted. Say what you will about his acting, he really is the modern day equivalent to Bruce Lee. Lets just hope beyond hope that Tom Yum Goong 2 is far better than his last two Ong Bak films.
Oh, and they need more elephants too.