‘Ip Man 3’ Exclusive Clip Released — Watch ‘Ip Man’ Meet Bruce Lee [Video]

Ip Man 3, the third chapter in the Ip Man series, will be in American cinemas on January 22, 2016 and an exclusive clip has just been released, courtesy of ComingSoon.net.

Ip Man 3 stars Donnie Yen, reprising his role as the title character. Danny Chan plays the iconic martial artist Bruce Lee and the cast even includes former boxer Mike Tyson. The official synopsis for the film can be read below.

“Donnie Yen ignites the screen in a return to the role that made him an icon – as Ip Man, the real-life Wing Chun grandmaster who mentored Bruce Lee. In this explosive third installment of the blockbuster martial arts series, when a band of brutal gangsters led by a crooked property developer (Mike Tyson) make a play to take over the city, Master Ip is forced to take a stand. Fists will fly as some of the most incredible fight scenes ever filmed play out on the big screen in this soon-to-be genre classic.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enjeDd75NFw

Ip Man 3 follows Ip Man 2, released in 2010, and the first film, Ip Man, released in 2008; all three films feature skilled martial artist and Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen. With his acting debut being the 1984 Hong Kong film Drunken Tai Chi, Yen has acted in countless films since then and has been able to establish himself as a legend in the martial arts/kung fu world of cinema.

Ip Man, who was also known as Yip Man, was a Chinese martial artist who perfected the art of Wing Chun, and was a master teacher of the self-defense Chinese martial art. Fighting throat cancer, he died in December of 1972, only seven months before Bruce Lee died. He is a martial art master who has been widely overlooked, which is one of the reasons why Donnie Yen agreed to portray him in the Ip Man series.

“I think people only knew him as the teacher of Bruce Lee, so you only saw the character in films about him, kind of a supporting character,” Yen said in an interview. “When you learn more about Ip Man, you realize that he had a really incredible life, and a huge influence on the martial arts world, in his own right. Maybe the right combination of elements didn’t come together until now to tell his story.”

Ip Man 3 won’t be the only film American audiences will see Donnie Yen in next year. Yen will also be in Disney’s Star Wars anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which is scheduled to be released near the end of 2016 in December. Yen attended the China premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and got to share how it feels being a part of the Star Wars franchise in a brief interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a59inxtC4-M

The film is being directed by Gareth Edwards, who directed 2014’s Godzilla, and is still currently being filmed. As of this writing, Yen’s character name and role in the film have yet to be released, which can be said for the rest of the cast as well.

Even The Force Awakens is not able to overshadow Ip Man 3 in China, and its growing popularity should not be underestimated. During the Christmas weekend, Ip Man 3 was able to knock Star Wars: The Force Awakens from its top spot at the box office. The previous two films in the Ip Man series were also incredibly popular; with its history and connection to Asian culture, this recent success was not surprising to some Chinese moviegoers. The film earned over $2 million at the box office in four days and also set the record for the highest-grossing Chinese film in one day in Singapore on Christmas Day.

In addition to aforementioned films, Donnie Yen will also be in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, which will come out only a month after Ip Man 3, in February.

Ip Man 3 is directed by Wilson Yip and produced by Bak-Ming Wong.

[Image via Well Go USA]