Donnie Yen joins Star Wars Episode VIII!

Donnie Jedi photo 1

The Force has always been strong with Donnie Yen (something we can confirm firsthand from meeting him in person at the premiere of Kung Fu Killer last fall!), but he’ll soon have the opportunity to show just how strong with the news that he will appear in the upcoming “Star Wars Episode VIII”, which Donnie himself confirmed on Sunday when he posted the photo below to his Facebook page!

Looks like Donnie will portray a Jedi who ostensibly becomes an ally of Han Solo, with reports that he will be headed to London and picking up his lightsaber later this summer. The “Star Wars” franchise draws heavily from martial arts in its action sequences and its mythology of Jedi, Sith and The Force, with “Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace” famously launching the career of stuntman and Wushu expert Ray Park.

As it is, Donnie isn’t the only Asian star soon to be wielding a lightsaber on the silver screen. The upcoming seventh instalment of the franchise, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, will feature appearances by Silat exponents Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian of “The Raid: Redemption” along with Cecep Arif Rahman of “The Raid 2“. Hopefully, all of them will be able to stop by Master Ken’s dojo for a little lightsaber training!

Stay tuned for more info on Donnie Yen’s involvement with “Star Wars: Episode VIII”, and watch out for the trio from “The Raid” films in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” arriving in the US and UK on December 18th!

Brad Curran

From the earliest days of childhood, Brad Curran was utterly fascinated by martial arts, his passion only growing stronger after spending time living in the melting pot of Asian cultures that is Hawaii. His early exposure developed into a lifelong passion and fascination with all forms of martial arts and tremendous passion for action and martial arts films. He would go on to take a number of different martial arts forms, including Shaolin Ch'uan fa, Taekwondo, Shotokan Karate and remains a devoted student, avid and eager to continue his martial arts studies. Brad is also an aspiring writer and deeply desires to share his love for martial arts and martial arts movies with the world!