The Man With The Iron Fists hasn’t even been released to public audiences yet, but apparently former musician turned writer/director/actor RZA won’t need box office numbers to validate new and exciting directorial opportunities on future big budget features.
According to Twitch Film, RZA has been tapped to helm two more films, one a Genghis Khan biopic and the other an action film titled No Man’s Land, in addition to the already announced adaptation of Grant Morrison’s Happy!.
It looks like up first on RZA‘s plate will be the film No Man’s Land for producer Reginald Hudlin. The only information we have on the project so far is a brief plot synopsis, as the film will “span one night and follows a thief who steals a diamond from a powerful crime lord.” Sounds a little more tame compared to what our martial arts obsessed director just tackled, but we’ll wait to hear more before making any judgements.
Whether or not Happy! will shoot next is a mystery, but the second brand new project for RZA will in fact be a long teased feature film about the great Mongolian emperor Genghis Khan, which originally saw director John Milius (Conan The Barbarian) attached to direct, with plans set to begin shooting sometime next year. Though Milius will no longer direct, he will stay on as executive producer and see his script be brought to life by a new director.
Not to mention, with so much confidence being put into RZA at this point, excitement for The Man With The Iron Fists can only increase. Studios usually play it safe with first time directors, waiting for public reactions before pulling triggers on long-term plans, but apparently limited screenings were enough to impress the right people.
The good news is, we only have to wait until Friday to find out what exactly gave RZA enough recognition to advance his Hollywood career so abruptly.
The question is, do you think RZA has what it takes to be a bona-fide big-time director?