Having faced and survived the battle with John Wick, Donnie Yen now achieves another remarkable achievement: bringing Ip Man 5 back to life.
At the Cannes Film Festival, action star Donnie Yen and Hong Kong film studio Mandarin Motion Pictures shared news of three upcoming films starring Yen. There’s the all-new film Misjudgment, Flashpoint: Rebirth, the sequel to the 2007 police drama, and Ip Man 5. However, there is no confirmed release date for any of these films yet.
Of the three films mentioned, Ip Man is the most shocking news. This is a surprise addition to Yen’s popular series based on the life of Wing Chun master Ip Man, who was Bruce Lee’s master. Yen previously turned down the role of the character following 2019’s Ip Man 4: Endgame, which ended with Ip Man’s death from cancer in 1972.
Details about Ip Man 5 remain scarce, but Yen and the studio confirmed its existence by sharing a poster on social media. The poster features a training dummy surrounded by unidentified people who appear to be knocked out, with various swords and blades scattered around. Notably, Ian is absent from the poster, and he didn’t provide any additional information or caption other than identifying the studio and including relevant hashtags.
What will happen in IP Man 5?
We don’t know much about the plot of Ip Man 5 or how much Donnie Yen will be in it. Even though Ian proved his acting skills in John Wick: Chapter 4, it is unclear whether he will be the main star or play a smaller role in the film. The series ended early and Yen wants to move on, so it’s unclear how much he’ll be featured in Ip Man 5. As for the potential storyline for Ip Man 5, there are several possibilities. Ip Man 5 could explore a lesser-known part of Ip Man’s life or be a prequel set in the past, showing how the fighting style of Wing Chun began.
There’s also the possibility of a supernatural story where Ip Man returns from the dead, although that might seem a little silly. This film series has done unexpected things before, like Mike Tyson playing a landlord and Ip Man fighting teenagers in an American high school.
While Donnie Yen could have starred in more Hollywood films after John Wick: Chapter 4, his participation in Ip Man 5 shows that he is not afraid to revisit the place where his popularity originally began.