A major initiative announced at this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival will see 100 classic martial arts movies reimagined using artificial intelligence, as well as the “world’s first full-process, AI-produced animated feature film.”
For better or worse, AI is infiltrating our lives. ChatGPT has more than 180 million users, TikTokers are using it to create content, and some are actually falling in love with their chatbots (à la Her).
Many believe it has no place in creative work, but AI is already used across the entertainment industry, and this will only continue to increase. In China, studios are leaning into it.
Classic movies starring Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li are set to be digitally remastered as part of the ‘Kung Fu Movie Heritage Project 100 Classics AI Revitalization Project’, with an upfront funding of 100 million yuan ($13.9 million).
AI used to make animated cyberpunk version of A Better Tomorrow
Not only will AI be used to give the films a new look that “conforms to contemporary film viewing,” but John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow has been given a cyberpunk spin in a fully AI-produced animated feature film.
The new movie, A Better Tomorrow: Cyber Border, premiered at the 2025 Shanghai International Film Festival this week. As revealed by Variety, it was made using technology developed by Quantum Animation, with AI generating everything from scripts and modeling to animation and rendering.
Producer Zhang Qing said, “This entire animated feature was made by just 30 people. AI has collapsed the barrier between creativity and execution. The production cycle has gone from years to months.”
As for the restoration project, AI will be used to improve image, sound, and overall production quality while preserving the tone of the originals. Among the 100 titles are Fist of Fury, The Big Boss, Once Upon a Time in China, and Drunken Master.
Canxing Media chair Tian Ming confirmed that the 100 million yuan ($13.9 million) will go towards the AI restorations of the first ten movies on the list, saying they are the priority for now.
“AI is the brush, but creativity is the soul,” Tian said. “Classic kung fu films embody China’s spiritual backbone. We’re inviting global partners to join this cultural and technological reboot.”
Zhang also urged filmmakers to consider other forms of entertainment such as fighting video games, stating, “Why are the world’s biggest fighting games not Chinese, when they all borrow Chinese moves? We need to build the next Street Fighter from our own IPs like Wong Fei-hung and Nezha.”
As is often the case, the news has sparked plenty of debate, with many saying the classics should remain untouched. “Great way to ruin a classic film,” said one, while another wrote, “Nooo leave the legends alone.”
However, others are more supportive of the idea, and even have some concepts of their own. “If AI can recreate Bruce Lee’s voice, I’d be up for redubbing his classic films,” one user commented.
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