Ong Bak 2: The Real Fight is Back

July 1, 2008

A few years back, a little Thai film called Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior introduced us to Tony Jaa and launched the Muay Thai screenfighter into international stardom.

Tony Jaa blasted onto the scene doing all of his own eye-popping stunts and action sequences without the use of wires or visual effects, a rarity in 21st century filmmaking. Jaa became the modern day Jackie Chan, the original icon known for doing all of his own stunts.

Now, Tony Jaa is returning to the big screen as both lead actor and first-time director in Ong Bak 2. Once again he works along with his long-time Master Panna Rittikrai to provide high-octane stunts and action.

Interestingly enough, Ong Bak 2 is not a sequel to the first Ong Bak film released in 2003 but a remake of Ai Noom Saraphad Phid, a film Tony made with Ritthikrai several years ago. The title roughly translates to "venomous boy" and involves a character whose dark side is dominant until he's transformed by the gracious power of Khon Dance, a traditional Thai dance.

The film was never released and none of the old footage will be used because when Rittikrai and Jaa took it to the lab to be developed, they were informed it had expired.

THE STORY
The new film in the form of Ong Bak 2 will still use this new kind of Muay Thai combining Khon Dance and ancient Thai weapons (including the sword and the spear). This newly created style of fighting is called Muay Khon.

"A young man in the Ayutthaya period grows up among villagers who preserve the legacy of the traditional khon masked dance. He becomes an outcast when he finds that his firm limbs weren't made to pursue the specialty of his ancestors, but with the advice of a mysterious guru he's able to develop a new style of fighting which mixes the strength of martial arts with the regal elegance of khon dance. Then he's ready to go out and fight the enemy."

There will still be elephants involved in the movie as part of the action. You can see one shot on the movie poster (click to enlarge) at right.

Watch the promo for Ong Bak 2. The film will be released in North America through Weinstein Brothers/Dragon Dynasty distribution after the release in Asia some time later this year.

Tony Jaa’s last film was Tom Yum Goong aka The Protector in 2005/2006.