"The Terminator" actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and "Kung-Fu Yoga" Jackie Chan join in the cast of Chinese-Russian co-production fantasy adventure movie "Viy-2: Journey to China." "Viy" director Oleg Stepchenko is being helmed on it, just as the first movie.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" actor Jason Flemyng is playing the lead Jonathan Green. Chan and Schwarzenegger would play in undisclosed roles. "The Broken Key" actor Rutger Hauer is also joining the cast in "Viy-2."
"Viy-2" centers on English explorer Green who receives an order from Peter the Great to map the Russian Far East. Once again Green sets out for a long journey full of incredible adventures that will eventually lead him to China. He will face many breathtaking discoveries, encounter bizarre creatures, meet with Chinese princesses, and confront deadly martial arts masters and the Dragon King.
"Viy-2" is also known as Journey to China: The Iron Mask Mystery and is set in the 18th century. It is a sequel to the 2014 Russian box-office hit based on a horror novella by the 19th century Russian author Nikolai Gogol, Variety reported.
The screenplay of "Viy-2" is written by Stepchenko, Dmitry Palcev, and Alexey Petrukhin. The other cast members include "The Imitation Game" actor Charles Dance, "Guardians of the Galaxy" actor Christopher Fairbank, and "Jurassic World" actor Martin Klebba.
"Viy" grossed $33.2 million in Russia and was released in multiple international territories, making it the year's top-grossing local film in Russia. It was co-produced by Russia, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic and was released in 2014.
"Viy-2" was shot in China and is now in post-production. It is budgeted at a total of $48 million and expected to be released early next year. It is set to become Russia's biggest-budget co-production ever since China is investing $15 million.
Watch the video of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan to co-star in fantasy movie "Viy-2":