Jackie Chan is set to star in Daniel Lee’s period action epic Dragon Blade, to be financed by start-up film fund Beijing Cultural Assets Chinese Film & Television Fund.

Investors in the film, which claims to have a budget that breaks records for China, also include China’s Sparkle Roll Cultural Media, Huayi Brothers Media and Shanghai Film Group.

Chan will play the commander of the ‘Protection Squad of the Western Regions’ in the Han Dynasty-set epic, inspired by historical records of the Romans in the western provinces of ancient China. The producers said an A-list Hollywood star would be cast in the role of a Roman general.

The film will be released in 3D IMAX in China and international markets on Feb 19, 2015, which is Chinese New Year’s Day. Second unit crews are currently shooting at Hengdian World Studios and will soon head to Dunhuang and the Gobi Desert.

Daniel Lee has previously directed martial arts epics such as Three Kingdoms: Resurrection Of The Dragon and White Vengeance.

The Beijing Cultural Assets fund has been jointly established by Sparkle Roll, CITIC Asset Management Corp, China Film Foundation, Cultural Assets Supervision and Administration Office of the Beijing city government and Beijing All Media and Culture Group under the Beijing city’s Department of Publicity.

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