Stars return to 'Painted Skin 2'

A poster of Gordon Chan's 2008 film "Painted Skin"

Chinese vampire film "Painted Skin" will soon have a sequel in production with most cast members returning to the film.

As is reported Tuesday, March 22 that lead cast members Zhao Wei, Chen Kun and Zhou Xun have signed on to play in the second installment.

Elements of the new film are moving forward. It features a different story unrelated to the original. Only Zhou Xun will reprise her role as the vampire-like woman, Xiao Wei.

In the sequel, Wang Sheng (originally by Chen Kun) and Wang Ying, son of Wang Sheng and Pei Rong (originally by Zhao Wei) travel westward to explore and reencounter the fox spirit Xiao Wei along the way.

It's no doubt why people are so keen on producing film sequels considering the massive fan bases and well-warmed potential markets. "Painted Skin" directed by Gordon Chan mustered about 200 million yuan (US$30.5 million) at the box office within 19 days in 2008.

This time, Uershan, director of the film "Dao Jian Xiao", or "The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman", has taken over the directorial reins from Gordon Chan with Chen Kuo-fu as executive producer.

"Painted Skin" is adapted from the ancient novel "Liaozhai Zhiyi", or "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio", written by Pu Songling in the Qing Dynasty.

Film shooting will be underway in May and it is slated for a 2012 release.