Monk's love story core of new Monkey King movie

[Photo provided to China Daily]

But Cheang's journey forward isn't easy. The Monkey King's stories have been adapted into at least 30 movies in the past few decades. And more competition is on the way.

According to the country's top movie regulator, another four movies based on the novel are currently being made.

Cheang's answer to that seems to be a celebrity-studded cast. A-lister Feng Shaofeng, known for his role in the Sino-French production Wolf Totem, will play Xuanzang in this movie as he did in the second installment of Cheang's Monkey King series.

Comedy actor Shen He, known more by his stage name Xiao Shenyang, also reprises his role as the pig.

And the director says the female lead will be played by a top Chinese actress.

Wang Haifeng, one of the main producers of Cheang's Monkey King movies, told the Chinese media earlier that two massive indoor sets in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, had been constructed for the latest film. The new film will have more special effects than the previous two, and more comedy elements will also be visible, he said.

Wang, the founder of entertainment company Film Ko Film, says that his firm alongside other financiers will invest a total of 3.5 billion yuan in seven Monkey King movies.

The Monkey King 3, which has Hollywood makeup veteran Shaun Smith working on the crew, will hit theaters for Chinese New Year in 2018.