What a rollercoaster for the Sleeping Dogs movie, eh? Early on in the year, it was reported that Sleeping Dogs' adaptation was dead. Then, it seems like a phoenix from the ashes, it has risen once more, with Marvel star Simu Liu willing this thing back into existence, as he'll star as Wei Shen.
Now, as confirmed on social media over the weekend, a major milestone has been hit, as the draft of the Sleeping Dogs script has been done. Don't expect the movie to be hitting the 2025 or 2026 release calendars, as there's still a long way to go, but with a script done, Liu and friends can now shop for a director, and look to get filming started likely after some script revisions.
<social>https://x.com/SimuLiu/status/1979664278459388314</social>
In a reply to his post, Liu was asked about working with Square Enix, where he praised the publisher for its collaboration on the project. "They're absolutely great it's the studios that don't seem to understand how important this IP is BUT we will get them there," he wrote.
Sleeping Dogs first released in 2012. It followed undercover police officer Wei Shen as he infiltrated the Sun On Yee Triad in Hong Kong. With a sandbox open world, tight martial-arts-based combat, and a strong narrative core, the game remains an underrated favourite for many. We never got to see a second Sleeping Dogs game, but perhaps if a movie is successful, the IP could make a grand return.