Though once wildly, dizzyingly prolific, Johnnie To has only debuted three features in the last ten years, and recent interviews have left him sounding less-than-optimistic about a new project––be that the years-gestating Election 3 or otherwise. (No word in the near year since he was supposedly spotted filming something, about the strongest terms we’ve been able to deploy for quite a while.) Thus there was a real jolt of energy reading (via Google Translation) in the Hong Kong publication HK01 that today marks the start of location-scouting on a new feature starring Tony Leung which––I hope you’re sitting down for this––”revolves around the conflicts of gangs in Hong Kong.” Filming is expected to primarily take place in Hokkaido, Japan, with a 2027 release currently anticipated
Little news in 2025’s been so welcome. (The only other thing that comes to mind is this––Chinese century indeed.) Despite being two of Hong Kong’s leading luminaries, To and Leung have collaborated surprisingly few times, each outing a lesser-known title in their catalogs: Tomorrow, The Royal Scoundrel, Lucky Tomorrow, and To’s ghost-directed The Longest Nite. (I’ve seen one, and if you’ve bested me: much respect.) One wonders if this occasion’s owed at all to their recent pairing on the Tokyo International Film Festival’s jury, during which To praised the “scrumptious dishes” Leung recommended him. (Potential jokes aside, it’s as legitimate a reason as any to choose a filming location.)
Present for a career-spanning retrospective in New York last year, To was often asked about the possibility of a new feature. He told our own Daniel Eagen that he’d started shooting a project about the Hong Kong handover but, after two days, “could not concentrate somehow,” and while he didn’t abandon this feature per se, wants “to make a happy film.” The same interview points toward this endeavor’s seeming Japanese influence: To pondered the potential of combining Hong Kong cinema’s “strong technical foundation and a spirit recognizable around the world” with the capabilities of other Asian countries––financing among them. Whatever it takes, to say nothing of how magnificently To could photograph the country.
P.S. Clicking around for this article uncovered a 2023 interview in which To gave his honest appraisal of Everything Everywhere All at Once: “Listen, I don’t know why this film can get any awards. No idea. I can’t accept that.” It has nothing to do with the above, per se, but if you’ve made it this far you’d surely appreciate it.