LA-based Regent Entertainment has sealed a co-production deal with Hong Kong's Media Asia kicking off with Gen-Y Cops, the sequel to Media Asia's hit Gen-X Cops, which will star Paul Rudd and a largely Asian supporting cast.

Rudd, whose credits include Clueless, The Object Of My Affection, The Cider House Rules and 200 Cigarettes, plays an American FBI agent in the movie assigned to protect a lethal attack robot from a team of high-tech thieves in Hong Kong who plan to steal it. He is joined in his mission by three hip young local cops. Leading the Asian cast are Stephen Fung and Sam Lee from Gen-X Cops, newcomer Edison Chen, Hong Kong supermodel Maggie Q and Taiwanese hearththrob Richard Sun.

The film was written by Felix Chong and Bey Logan and is being directed by Gen-X Cops director Benny Chan. Regent will handle worldwide distribution rights excluding Asia, Australia and New Zealand and the Middle East which are retained by Media Asia.

"Our aim is to make a sequel that is both different from and better than Gen-X Cops," said Jackie Chan, a partner in Media Asia and co-producer on the movie. "Gen-Y will see the courageous team of Hong Kong undercover cops take on a truly fearsome foe in an unfamiliar environment."

Regent, whose partners are Paul Colichman, Mark R Harris, Stephen Jarchow and Peter Dekom, is a production company with domestic distribution, international sales, exhibition and internet arms. Its films have included Oscar winner Gods And Monsters starring Ian McKellan and Brendan Fraser.