China’s AI Project Will Remake Martial Arts Films

It's another news day, and another AI article that brings up the question about if Animators and Editors are losing work.

In a landmark announcement at the Shanghai International Film Festival, Chinese studios unveiled the “Kung Fu Movie Heritage Project: 100 Classics AI Revitalization”, a state-supported plan to remake 100 martial arts films using cutting-edge artificial intelligence.

Legendary titles such as Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury (1972), Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master (1978), and Jet Li’s Once Upon a Time in China (1991) will be digitally transformed. The initiative promises enhanced visuals, sound, and production quality—while preserving each film’s core storytelling and cultural integrity.

Zhang Pimin, chairman of the China Film Foundation, hailed the move as both cultural preservation and technological innovation. “These are aesthetic historical treasures,” he said, calling the project a way to modernize classics for today’s audience.

One standout is a cyberpunk-style AI animation remake of John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow (1986), dubbed the “world’s first full-process, AI-produced animated feature film.”

With a 100 million yuan ($13.9 million) investment and support from the China Film Foundation, Shanghai Canxing Culture, and Quantum Animation, the project signals China's firm commitment to AI-driven creative transformation. The question is how many animators could have worked for that much compared to the AI budget. Comment below with your thoughts.

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Source: Hollywood Reporter

Photo Credit: Destination Films/Golden Harvest