While you may not recognize Koan Hui by name you are almost certainly familiar with his work if you are at all a fan of classic Hong Kong cinema. A long time collaborator with Tsui Hark, Hui racked up assistant director credits on a stack of titles including multiple entries in the Once Upon A Time In China series, The Blade, Green Snake and Black Mask before making the switch to visual effects work with titles such as Zu Warriors, SPL, Dragon Tiger Gate and Painted Skin: The Resurrection. And now - after 25 years in the industry - Hui gets his first solo directing credit with the upcoming League Of Gods.
Jet Li, Louis Koo, Fan Bingbing and Tony Leung Ka Fai all star in the adaptation of 16th century novel The Investiture Of The Gods and Hui's VFX background has clearly been put to big use here. With the success of the Monkey King films and recent effort Monster Hunt, big spectacle Chinese fantasy has become huge business in recent days and this certainly looks poised to capitalize on that trend. Check out the trailer below.