It's been a bit of an Ipmanapalooza... First we had Ip Man 1 & 2 directed by Wilson Yip, starring Donnie Yen as the Wing Chun master... then came the officially unrelated Ip Man: The Legend is Born directed by Herman Yau, starring Dennis To as the title character. December should see the long awaited release of Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmasters with Tony Leung Chiu-wai playing the role of Ip Man, and production is soon to begin on Ip Man 3D with Yen reprising the role.
Meanwhile shooting has wrapped on Ip Man: The Final Battle which stars Anthony Wong (Beast Cops)as the title character, Gillian Chung, Anita Yuen, Jordan Chan and Eric Tsang co-star in the film which is directed by Herman Yau. The story is set in Hong Kong but production took place in China. Wong, who plays the middle-aged Ip Man, and his five pupils battle the local bully. Early word suggests that one of the students may well be Bruce Lee!
There is also an Ip Man TV series in the works. The TV series will be directed and written by Fan Xiaotian. Zhang Tan, the writer of Once Upon a Time in China will serve as the executive producer and script editor. Tan states that the Ip Man TV series will not only be about Ip Man, but will also explore the history of Chinese martial arts in general. Ip Man’s real-life sons, Ip Chun and Ip Ching, will serve as the martial arts consultants for the series.