More Crouching Tiger on its way

The (Evil) Weinsteins have acquired the rights to Wang Du Lu’s entire Crane series of novels, from which Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was based. In the works are three Crouching Tiger prequels, and one sequel to the 2000 film. No word as of yet whether Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh will star in the prequels, nor as to whether Ziyi Zhang will be in the sequel. The press release stressed that these would be legitimate entries into the series, unlike the silly New Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon from a year or two back.

Also planned are a stage adaptation(s?) (think the Lion King broadway thing).

Though these do sound interesting, the Weinstein’s tendency to sit on their properties (See: The Legend of Zu, Hero, etc.) would lead me to believe we won’t see any of these hit North American screens for quite some time.