‘Shanghai Dawn’ to Reunite Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan for Another Buddy Action Adventure

Hey, remember Shanghai Noon and its sequel, Shanghai Knights? Those were a couple of pretty fun movies, huh? It’s been over 10 years since the sequel hit theaters, but studio executives haven’t forgotten the major bank they made at the box office by bringing together the unlikely duo of Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan in what almost became an unlikely trilogy. Not so unlikely anymore, as MGM is reportedly moving forward with Shanghai Dawn, which sadly will not mash-up the Shanghai franchise with Werner Herzog’s Rescue Dawn. Sorry.

Over at the Tracking Board, the site has revealed MGM’s plans to move ahead with Shanghai Dawn, a sequel that was initially discussed upon the release of Shanghai Knights. When that film hit theaters in 2003, Owen Wilson was openly talking up the third installment in the series — in an interview with Empire, he compared his onscreen chemistry with Jackie Chan to Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, and talked of the possibility of taking the characters to Egypt for their next adventure.

Shanghai Noon was originally released in 2000, and told the story of an Imperial guard from China (Chan) who must travel to the wild west to rescue a kidnapped princess. The comedy film blended Chan’s martial arts style with old western sensibilities, and the pairing of Wilson with Chan was kind of inspired at the time, capitalizing on the affection for the Rush Hour series, which also saw Chan paired with an unlikely partner.

Shanghai Knights hit theaters in 2003 and took the duo to London in a film that grossed $88 million at the box office — less than its predecessor, which came in at just under $100 million.

It’s not immediately clear if Shanghai Dawn will take Wilson and Chan to Egypt, as seemed to be the original plan. The Shanghai films were plenty popular over 10 years ago, and while it’s hard to imagine much demand for another installment in the series, perhaps enough time has passed that this idea will seem novel again.