by Larry Richman
March 22, 2008 2:19 PM

For the uninitiated, The Forbidden Kingdom is the long-awaited collaboration between martial arts masters Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Michael Angarano (Sky High, Lords of Dogtown) plays a troubled 17-year-old wannabe kung fu warrior who, after a humiliating defeat at the hands of a street gang, is sent back in time to ancient China on an impossible mission to set free the imprisoned Monkey King and return to him his all-powerful staff.

Rob Minkoff directed from a John Fusco script. Casey Silver produces. The World Premiere will take place in Beijing on April 16. The film is being released in the US jointly by Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company on April 18. Maple Pictures releases in Canada the same day.

See previous posts on this blog for the many stills, posters, trailers, and links to sites which have been rolled out over the last several months.


Here, Jason (Michael Anagarano) learns martial arts from his teachers Lan Cai He (Jet Li) and Lu Yan (Jackie Chan).




In this clip, a drunken Lu Yan arrives to save young Jason from the evil War Lord's soldiers.




Here is more of Angarano in action.




Lu Yan and Jason make their escape on horseback.




Here, Jackie Chan and Jet Li work with Yuen Woo Ping to create incredible fight sequences in an official behind-the-scenes video titled Kung Fu Superstars.