First Look at Donnie Yen as General GUAN YUN CHANG

Following a steady flow of blockbuster hits with Ip Man as his biggest breakthrough thus far, Donnie Yen has quickly risen to become the hottest commodity in China's film industry while being hail as the current undisputed onscreen king of Kung Fu by audience and critics alike.  Naturally, the highly demanded actor/action director has receive enough offers for multiple projects to keep him busy til 2012.  Whats next on his plate is the title role of Guan Yun Chang (关云长), the legendary general from the Three Kingdoms era and he will also be responsible for the action direction. Sharing the directorial duties is Felix Chong and Alan Mak and the cast line-up include Jiang Wen (Warriors of Heaven and Earth) as rival warlord Cao Cao and Chin Siu-Ho (Fist of Legend).  The production has just begun and the sneaky folks at Sina was there on-set to take some spy shots that reveal how the costume and the trademark beard will look on him as well as the infamous Green Dragon Crescent Blade. 

Wu-jing.org has the low-down on the story and Donnie's thought about taking on this iconic role:

...The story focuses mainly on the period when Guan Yu was held captive by Cao Cao, showing his inner conflicts, and will see Guan Yu traveling a thousand li on his trusty steed, passing 5 obstacles, beheading six generals. Donnie Yen would play the eponymous historical figure, while Zhang Han Yu Jiang Wen warlord Cao Cao.

 Donnie Yen says, "I don't know why so many filmmakers want me to play folk heroes or historical figures. I have heard that many are shooting Guan Yu films, and Louis Koo would be joining one, very fascinating... To me, this is a very challenging role, I'd be acting and action directing, so the pressure is quite big. My schedule is already fully packed this year, but I'm still getting new scripts, more than I could handle."

Other potential projects being offer to Donnie Yen include Legend of Saintly Physician Li, a film on a great Ming dynasty healer Li Shi Zhen, and Peter Chan's JungKu: The Man From 18th Hell. Personally, I was really hoping to see Donnie going back to doing modern Hong Kong actioner in the vein of Flash Point and SPL or tackle the possible Donnie Yen & Tony Jaa project but it seems the trend of epic costume swordplay historical films is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon apparently.