Universal Pictures recently released an animated prologue for its upcoming martial arts fantasy film.
The Man with the Iron Fists is directed by RZA, who also plays a supporting role. The movie tells the story of a small village caught in the midst of a battle among several warring factions. Ultimately, this prompts the local blacksmith, a slave known only as The Blacksmith, to forge a series of bizarre weapons to help the villagers defend themselves.
The short film, entitled The Encounter, details the first time that RZA’s character encounters Brass Body, one of the film’s villains, as The Blacksmith is forced to help defend the slave ship that brought him to China.
As the writer, the director, and one of the actors (playing the titular village blacksmith), this is very much RZA’s project, and his attempt to emerge as a prominent filmmaker under Quentin Tarantino’s guidance.
Before The Man with the Iron Fists, RZA had appeared in a few films, and penned plenty of music – both for films and Wu-Tang Clan, but this is his first venture into actual script writing or directing, so it’s difficult to know what to expect. However, we do know that it has Tarantino’s stamp of approval.
The official synopsis is thus:
Since his arrival in China’s Jungle Village, the town’s blacksmith (RZA) has been forced by radical tribal factions to create elaborate tools of destruction. When the clans’ brewing war boils over, the stranger channels an ancient energy to transform himself into a human weapon. As he fights alongside iconic heroes and against soulless villains, one man must harness this power to become savior of his adopted people.
The movie will likely be very bloody and quite sexual. How gratuitous it will actually get is difficult to discern from the trailer. (Note this is the red-band trailer, so expect terrible things.)
In addition we’ve got these character profile trailers which were released over the last couple weeks.
The Man with the Iron Fists punches into theaters November 2nd, 2012.
