Cinemax delivers the first teaser trailer for its upcoming marital arts drama, Warrior, from director Justin Lin (Fast and Furious) and Banshee co-creator Jonathan Tropper. The series is inspired by the writings of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, and will tell the story of a Chinese immigrant who makes his way from his homeland to San Francisco in the latter half of the 19th century, only to find himself using his skills for nefarious purposes.
The new trailer doesn’t offer any actual footage of the series, sadly, but it does set the tone for what’s to come, both by playing up Lee’s contributions as well as the show’s action pedigree in both Lin and Tropper. Lin, of course, has become an in-demand action director after delivering several installments of the Fast and Furious franchise, not to mention Star Trek Beyond, and television pilots, like Scorpion, S.W.A.T., and the upcoming Magnum P.I. reboot. In addition to films like This Is Where I Leave You and Netflix’s Koadchrome, Tropper served up Cinemax’s entertaining, ultra-pulpy crime series Banshee, to which Warrior seems like a worthy follow-up.
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For more on Warrior check out the synopsis below, as well as the first-look image at Andrew Koji as As Sahm:
Tropper discussed Warrior during an interview with Screen Rant ahead of Banshee’s fourth and final season, and even at that point the project had already lined up Lin as director. That was back in 2016, which is a good indication of how the wheels of progress can sometimes turn a little slower than fans would like. While this is a welcome step forward, it will be even more exciting when Cinemax delivers the first footage from the series, which will hopefully be in keeping with its pulpy predecessor, Banshee.
“Inspired by an idea from martial-arts legend Bruce Lee, this gritty, action- packed crime drama is set during the brutal Tong Wars of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the second half of the 19th century. Filming in Cape Town, South Africa, it follows a martial arts prodigy who immigrates from China to San Francisco under mysterious circumstances, and becomes a hatchet man for one of Chinatown’s most powerful organized crime families. Produced for CINEMAX by Perfect Storm Entertainment, Tropper Ink Productions and Bruce Lee Entertainment; created and executive produced by Jonathan Tropper under Tropper Ink Productions; Justin Lin and Danielle Woodrow executive produce on behalf of Perfect Storm Entertainment; Shannon Lee executive produces for Bruce Lee Entertainment.”
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Warrior is set to premiere on Cinemax in 2019.
