A Chinese superhero movie based on the world famous terracotta army sculptures is moving closer to fruition with the help of US studios, according to the South China Morning Post.
Titled either Super Terracotta Warriors or Rise of the Terracotta Warriors, according to different reports, the project is likely to be seen as China's answer to the recent slew of Hollywood films based on comic books. Details are murky, but the Post reports that the Shanghai Film Group has been approached by a number of studios, including Paramount, to collaborate on the project. Producer Avi Arad, who has worked on superhero fare such as Marvel's Iron Man and rival studio Sony's Spider-Man movies, is said to be the film's main architect.
The terracotta army at the world famous mausoleum of the Qing emperor, Qi Shi Huang, in Xi'an, north-west China, numbers more than 8,000 soldiers. The warriors were buried with China's first emperor upon his death circa 210–209 BC to help protect him in the afterlife. They were discovered by farmers in 1974 and subsequently brought to worldwide attention.
The Hollywood Reporter says the film will see "the warriors transplanted into modern society at a time when aliens are invading and the world needs them". It will be shot in Shanghai's Chedun studio with experts from Pinewood Studios helping to transform the facility into a world class "film city".
The movie would be just the latest attempt by Hollywood to cash in on the lucrative Chinese box office. Marvel shot special Chinese scenes for last year's Iron Man 3, though the extra content was later derided as a PR exercise by local filmgoers. Michael Bay's latest Transformers movie, Age of Extinction, is being co-produced with the state-owned China Movie Channel, with several scenes shot in China and appearances by local superstar Li Bingbing, and Mandopop singer and actor Han Geng.
China's film market – already the second biggest in the world – is expected to surpass that of the US by 2020.