Celina Jade to Star in ‘Mojin X’ Chinese Tomb-Raiding Film (EXCLUSIVE)

By Patrick Frater

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Celina Jade, the breakout actress from “Wolf Warriors II,” is set as the star of Chinese big-budget tomb-raiding action film “Mojin X.” The film is a sequel to 2015 hit “Mojin: The Lost Legend.”

Directed by Li Yifan, “Mojin X” also stars Zhang Hanyu (“Assembly”) and Jiang Wu. Working through Saints Entertainment, the producer is Zhang Wang (also known as Er Yong). His other credits include the recent “Hidden Man” as well as award winners “The Postmodern Life of My Aunt,” “Peacock” and “In the Heat of the Sun.”

Jade, who has been singing and acting for over a decade, has enjoyed a career surge since last year’s “Warriors II,” which earned $850 million to become the highest-grossing film of all time in China.

Jade was last year named as an Asian Talent to Watch by Variety and the International Film Festival Macao. She is currently riding high as the star of “Hello Mrs. Money,” a comedy that opened on top of the Chinese box office this weekend. In five days “Mrs Money” has grossed $63 million.

The tomb-raiding theme has proved a subset of the action-adventure genre that generates disparate box office results. The first “Mojin,” directed by Wuershan, earned $256 million in China. More recently, the Li Bingbing- and Kellan Lutz-starring “Guardians of the Tomb” earned $7.9 million.