Marvel star says it's been "tiring" trying to make his Sleeping Dogs movie, but he's still persevering – and also isn't giving up on his "dream" of a game sequel

Simu Liu in Shang-Chi
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Marvel star Simu Liu wants to make an adaptation of the video game Sleeping Dogs – but by the sounds of things, it hasn't all been smooth sailing.

"So few film projects make it from pitch phase to greenlight. Pitching execs who don’t understand the game has been tiring. Everyone’s overwhelming love of Sleeping Dogs here has really given us life!" he wrote on Twitter. "First a movie, then a sequel game for everyone… that's always been the dream."

Sleeping Dogs is set in Hong Kong and revolves around an undercover police officer infiltrating the Sun On Yee Triad organization.

It was originally going to be turned into a movie starring Donnie Yen, though earlier this month he revealed that the adaptation is no longer happening.

“I spent a lot of time and did a lot of work with these producers, and I even invested some of my own money into obtaining the drafts and some of the rights," Yen told Polygon. "I waited for years. Years. And I really want to do it. I have all these visions in my head, and unfortunately… I don’t know, you know how Hollywood goes, right? I spent many, many years on it. It was an unfortunate thing. Well, on to better things."

Liu's tease of a sequel is interesting, too, as the game has had a scrapped sequel and spin-off. Here's hoping Liu can get his adaptation and sequel off the ground.

While we don't know when we'll next be seeing Liu's Shang-Chi in the MCU, you can keep up to date with everything the studio has in store with our guide to all the upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows, or plan a marathon with our guide to watching the Marvel movies in order.

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English. 

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