Shaolin Soccer Spinoff Kung Fu Soccer Set for North American Theaters

25 years after Shaolin Soccer came out, spinoff Kung Fu Soccer is confirmed to be getting a theatrical release in North America.

Written and directed by Stephen Chow, who was behind the much-loved 2001 sports martial arts movie Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Soccer will be launched internationally by Encore Films, with a release expected later this year in the hope of capitalizing on World Cup fever.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kung Fu Soccer stars the Emei Women’s Football Team, who use martial arts to help fuel their underdog run in a tournament called the Supreme Invincible Cup. Expect plenty of visual effects, as Shaolin Soccer had. Zhang Xiaofei, Dilraba Dilmurat, and Lay Zhang Yixing are set to star.

Chow directed and starred in the wonderful 2004 martial arts movie Kung Fu Hustle, which enjoyed critical acclaim and commercial success globally. Kung Fu Soccer is his first new movie since 2019’s The New King of Comedy, although he won’t appear in it as he has some of his previous films.

“Director Stephen Chow is widely regarded as the ‘King of Comedy’ and one of the rare filmmakers whose work has entertained audiences across cultures for decades,” Joyce Lee, managing director of Encore Films, told Variety.

“Most football films ask, ‘Can they win the match?’ A Stephen Chow film asks, ‘Can they win the match while breaking the laws of physics?’ That’s the magic of Kung Fu Soccer — a film that blends imagination, action, heart, and comedy in a way only Chow can.”

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].