Bruce Lee‘s formative years—as a hard-living, street-fighting troublemaker in 1950s Hong Kong—will be the subject of a brand-new biopic.
Little Dragon will begin filming this summer, and noted Indian director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) is on board. Currently, an international manhunt is underway to find a “charismatic teenager” to play a young Bruce Lee.
“The film will be a contemporary take on Bruce Lee who, aside from being considered the most gifted and famous martial artist of all time, is now accepted as a major philosopher in his own right,” Kapur said in a statement.
“It is important that audiences today can relate their own lives to the journey of Bruce Lee, who manages to tap into his inner wisdom and harness his true destiny before it’s too late.”
What’s more, Lee’s own daughter Shannon Lee, who heads up Bruce Lee Entertainment, will co-write the script and serve as a producer of the authorized flick.
“I always thought that a film about how my father’s life was shaped in his early years in Hong Kong would be a worthwhile story to share so we could better understand him as a human being and a warrior,” Shannon Lee said in a statement.
If all goes according to plan, Little Dragon will reportedly begin filming this summer. But finding the right kid to play Lee, and whipping him into fighting shape, may take some time.