Chinese internet giant Tencent has announced a remake of Shaw Brothers classic The Magic Blade and has also boarded Legendary Pictures’ adaptation of the World Of Warcraft video game.
Tencent’s production arm, Tencent Pictures, is taking an equity stake in Legendary Pictures’ Warcraft, which is currently in post-production for release in June 2016. Directed by Duncan Jones, the big-budget fantasy action title stars Ben Foster, Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton and Dominic Cooper.
Wanda Cinemas is also involved in Warcraft as a partner for marketing and promotional activities.
Meanwhile, Tencent is working with Hong Kong-based Celestial Pictures, owner of the Shaw Brothers library, on the remake of the 1976 martial arts title The Magic Blade (aka The Moonlight Blade). Tencent has already adapted the property into an online game.
Tencent also announced that COO Mark Ren has been appointed chairman of Tencent Pictures, while Edward Cheng has been appointed as CEO.
Tencent, which announced Tencent Pictures last year, is launching multiple film and TV production and investment vehicles. It was one of the investors in Monster Hunt, which recently became the highest grossing film of all time in China.
The Hong Kong-listed company grew through its dominance in online video games and messaging apps such as QQ and WeChat. It operates an online video platform and recently launched a music streaming service JOOX in Hong Kong and Malaysia.
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