SHANGHAI DAWN: Jared Hess To Direct Action Comedy Sequel

Jared Hess signs on to helm Shanghai Dawn. The Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre director will work on the latest installment of the popular Shanghai Noon movie series.

The film, which will be the third in the action comedy franchise, will also mark the return of the mismatched duo played by Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan to the big screen after a 13 year hiatus. While talk of Shanghai Dawn swirled around the release of 2003’s Shanghai Knights, production never moved forward on the project until earlier this year.

Hess’s entry onto the movie’s crew means that he will have another chance to work with Wilson, whom he previously worked with on Masterminds. Also returning to the lucrative property are Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who wrote the screenplays for the first two films:

Shanghai Noon was an action-comedy combination of the Western and kung fu genre and was released fresh off the heels of Chan’s other notable buddy pairing franchise, “Rush Hour.” The first movie hit theaters 16 years ago and grossed just under $100 million at the global box office. The film was written by screenwriting duo Alfred Gough & Miles Millar and directed by Tom Dey. A sequel, Shanghai Knights, was released in 2003 and saw the pair travel to London. It grossed $88 million at the global box office.

Talk of a third film in the series came up upon the release of the second movie, and was even referred to at the time as Shanghai Dawn, though it previously never materialized.

Leave your thoughts on Jared Hess being set to direct Shanghai Dawn, the latest entry in the Shanghai Noon franchise (via Comingsoon.net) in the comments section below. For more Shanghai Dawn photos, videos, and information, visit our Shanghai Dawn Page, and consider subscribing to us by Email, “following” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, or “liking” us on Facebook for quick updates. No official release date has been offered for Shanghai Dawn yet.