Legendary East to make two major English language films per year, to be distributed by WB and Huayi Brothers.

Legendary Entertainment, Warner Bros’ co-production partner on blockbusters such as Inception, The Dark Knight and The Hangover is setting up Legendary East, a standalone Hong Kong branch dedicated to English language films with Chinese influence.

Legendary East’s slate will be developed and co-produced with Huayi Brothers, the Chinese outfit responsible for local smash Aftershock, the second highest-grossing Chinese-language film.

Huayi Brothers will distribute in China, with Warner Bros handling distribution in all other territories.

Legendary East initially plans on producing one to two major, event style films per year, beginning in 2013. 

The company is the vision of Legendary Entertainment’s Chairman and CEO Thomas Tull and Chinese born Hong Kong media and finance entrepreneur Kelvin Wu.

The senior executive team will be comprised of Thomas Tull, Executive Chairman; Kelvin Wu, Chief Executive Officer; and Joel Chang, Chief Financial Officer.

“China is one of the most important economic and culturally significant areas in the world, and we are deeply honored to establish a base in this region to create entertainment that is globally appealing in quality, scale and impact,” commented Tull. 

“I am glad that I have found Legendary, the leading film creator and trend setter, to be my comrade.  We sincerely value this partnership and believe that this collaboration will not only produce countless fantastic films for our global audience; but simultaneously will allow the world to see China from a whole new perspective,” said Wang Zhonglei, President, Huayi Bros.