John Woo ditches gun for sword

Sword is the new gun in John Woo's latest action thriller The Reign of Assassins, which will hit theaters on Sept 28.

The costume drama tells the story of the legendary assassin of the character played by Michelle Yeoh, who wants to lead a normal life with her lover but fails.

Co-directed by Taiwan director Su Chao-pin, the film gathers 12 A-listers from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

Unlike most of Woo's films which feature brotherly bonding, this time female characters share half of the main cast.

In addition to Yeoh, the female cast includes Taiwan actress Barbie Hsu, Pace Wu and their mainland counterpart Jiang Yiyan. The six actors include mainland veteran Wang Xueqi, who gave an impressive performance in Chen Kaige's Forever Enthralled, Taiwan director/actor Leon Dai and the mainland's rising star Li Zonghan.

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