EXCLUSIVE: Hong Kong’s Edko Films is launching sales at Cannes of two prequels to the successful Cold War film franchise, both toplining Daniel Wu and Terrance Lau.
The prequels, titled Cold War 1994 and Cold War 1995, are produced by Bill Kong and Ivy Ho whose recent titles include A Guilty Conscience and Anita. The first prequel is scheduled for release in the last quarter of 2025 with the second lined up for next year.
The films mark Wu’s first appearance in a Hong Kong film since the pandemic after his relocation to Hollywood, where his credits included Tomb Raider and HBO’s Westworld. Lau is one of the Hong Kong’s hottest rising stars, following his breakout role in Cannes 2024 selection and box office hit Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In.
The action crime thrillers revolve around a high-ranking police officer from the previous Cold War films, who is forced to walk a fine line between the triads, the elites and the British colonial government, while keeping a high-profile kidnapping case out of the media.
“The two films take place in the years leading up to Hong Kong’s handover to China and follow a continuous narrative centred on the main character [M.B. Lee],” says director-writer Longman Leung. The filmmaker was also behind the first two Cold War films, which were the highest grossing Hong Kong films in 2012 and 2016 respectively and grossed more than $13m (HK$100m) between them.
Both upcoming films were shot back-to-back last year across more than 100 shooting days. Hong Kong was the primary shooting location, with several scenes filmed in London.
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