“The studio doesn't seem to understand how important this IP is, but we'll let them make it happen” – Marvel star Simu Liu confirms “script draft is complete” as 'Sleeping Dogs' movie progresses
Blog Andrew Joseph 20 Oct , 2025 0
First draft of film adaptation script sleeping dog It's “done”.
That's according to Marvel star Simu Liu, who revealed over the weekend that the film's script has been completed, albeit carefully reworking some details in screenshots. He marked the news by sharing a photo of his sleeping dog.
In honor of the completion of our draft script for Sleepy Dog, here’s my Sleepy Dog 👍 pic.twitter.com/l1KsFNDj5V
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) October 18, 2025
When commenters responded to the good news and asked if the actors and producers had “resolved matters” with Square Enix, the game's publisher and IP holder, Liu explain: “They're absolutely great, it's just that the studio doesn't seem to understand how important this IP is, but we'll get them there.”
If you were hoping for more, I'm afraid Liu has shared very little, but that should be good news since the adaptation has been stuck in development hell for at least eight years.
According to IGNStory Kitchen is leading the live-action feature film project for Sleeping Dogs, in which Simu Liu plays Shang-Chi. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsproduced and set to play the protagonist Wei Shen. Story Kitchen is well-established in video game adaptations, having produced everything from the Sonic the Hedgehog movie to Netflix's animated Tomb Raider series.
The original adaptation was announced in 2017 Donnie Yen will star, but The movie disappeared a year later Earlier this year, Donnie Yen himself confirmed that the project had been cancelled, saying, “I spent a lot of time, did a lot of work with these producers, and I even invested some of my own money to get a draft and some rights.” However, just weeks later, Liu tweeted He's working with rights holders to bring the beloved video game to the big screen.
First released in 2012 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, Sleeping Dogs tells the story of Detective Shun Wei as he infiltrates one of Hong Kong's notorious triad crime syndicates. While it failed to meet publisher Square Enix's lofty sales expectations, it was beloved by fans, and hopes for a sequel followed. We thought Sleeping Dogs was great, written in IGN's Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition review: “Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition doesn't stray too much from what was great about the original game. That's a good thing.” The result was an 8.5.
In late 2013, the sequel was canceled before it went into production, and its original developer, United Front Games, shut down three years later.
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist and consultant for IGN with over 15 years of experience working with some of the largest gaming sites and publications in the world. She's also a Guardian, a Spartan, a Silent Hill Warrior, a Legend, and an eternal High Chaos. find her in blue sky.