There’s no question that Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger are two of cinema’s biggest action heroes, and many have wondered what would happen if these two powerhouses ever went toe-to-toe in a feature-length motion picture. Now, the folks over at Signature Entertainment will finally answer that question with their epic adventure movie The Iron Mask, where these legendary superstars will finally duke it out on the big screen.
For those wondering how they could have missed this ordeal, it probably has to do with a very long, complicated road to release. Not to mention the fact that The Iron Mask wasn’t the feature’s first title. The film went by several other names like Journey To China: The Mystery of Iron Mask, Viy 2: Journey to China and Mystery of Dragon Seal. Regardless of how it got here, one thing’s for sure, and that’s that the main attraction in this foreign flick is the exciting showdown mentioned above.
But the matchup of the century seems to be just the tip of the iceberg, according to this tantalizing teaser. After we see an old Chan locked in a prison called the Tower exchange a few blows with Arnold rocking a British military uniform, the adventure really kicks off. The intriguing narrative seems to follow a cartographer named Jonathan Green, who ventures on a quest involving the Silk Road, dragons and the battle for control of the world.
This Russian-Chinese production initially released back in 2019 and is actually a sequel to the film Forbidden Empire, Russia’s highest-grossing movie of 2014. Oleg Stepchenko served as director for both The Iron Mask and its predecessor and is one of the few that can say he’s directed two of the action genre’s most prominent players in an exhilarating brawl.
Of course, the last time these two were on screen together was in the 2004 remake of Around the World in 80 Days, but they had no fight scenes with each other. And while it does seem like there’s much more to this story than just the clash between the two stars, that’ll no doubt be the draw for many.
The Iron Mask doesn’t yet have a US theatrical release date, but it’ll drop into theaters in the UK on April 10th, 2020 and will also be made available via Digital On-Demand.
