Director and writer John Woo is set to produce a film adaptation of Monkey Master, which will be based on an unreleased comic book by Sharad Devarajan and the late Marvel creator Stan Lee. The comic and eventual film will follow a New York City archeologist named Li Yong. Eventually leading him to discover an ancient prophecy about the Monkey King, through a series of events that lead him to become a modern-day version and superhero: The Monkey Master.

With Woo onboard and a focus on Asian stories as of late, this project seems like an important story to tell now. Films like Shang-Chi are also on the way this summer. However, Devarajan is also onboard for this project as a producer. The longtime Stan Lee collaborator had this to say about the project: ” I am so excited to work with John Woo, Lori Tilkin and Gill Champion to honor Stan’s Monkey Master creation and bring this superhero to the screen the way he always intended.”

It is a sweet notion, and a nice gift to his late mentor. Lee is much more than the creator of the Marvel Universe and it will certainly be exciting to see where this non-MCU related film goes.

Woo is also excited about the project, the seventy-four year-old director has largely slowed down after directing Face/Off and Mission: Impossible II earlier this century, but he is still an important part as a producer and simply making the leap from Chinese to American cinema in the 90’s.

There is no set release date for the Monkey Master.