A film based on the beloved game Sleeping Dogs has been in development for several years, but it seems progress has now come to a halt. Actor Donnie Yen (Ip Man, John Wick, Rogue One) was announced as the lead several years ago, and he has now confirmed that the enthusiasm for bringing the film to life has diminished.
“I invested a significant amount of time and effort with these producers, and I even contributed some of my own funds to secure the scripts and certain rights,” Yen conveyed to Polygon. “I waited for many years. Many years. And I genuinely want to pursue this. I have all these ideas in my mind, and unfortunately … I can’t say for sure, you know how Hollywood operates, right? I dedicated many, many years to it. It’s quite disappointing.”
Yen did not provide additional details on what happened to the Sleeping Dogs film, but it is not uncommon for Hollywood projects to become entangled in development limbo and never see the light of day for various reasons.
In 2021, Yen mentioned that his production partners had informed him it was “going to happen,” with plans to begin filming in 2022, but obviously that did not occur.
Even if Yen’s Sleeping Dogs film never comes to fruition, you might still check out the 2024 Russell Crowe film Sleeping Dogs or the 1977 movie Sleeping Dogs starring Sam Neill. Additionally, you might want to watch Bobcat Goldthwait’s 2006 film Sleeping Dogs Lie which explores themes of bestiality.
The original Sleeping Dogs game allowed players to take control of undercover cop Wei Shen, who was assigned to infiltrate the Triad gangs operating in Hong Kong and gather evidence.