"Double World," a fantasy adventure film adapted from one of China's most popular online games, will make its online debut in both China and overseas late this July thanks to a deal with Netflix.

The producers of "Double World" announced on Monday that they will forego a theatrical release of the film in favor of debuting it on iQiyi, a major video streaming site in China, on July 24 as a premium video-on-demand (VOD) title. 

The film was directed by Hong Kong director Teddy Chan, stars Henry Lau, Mark Cheng, Peter Ho, Chung Him Law, Lin Chenhan, Hu Ming and Jiang Luxia, and was produced by Pou-Soi Cheang. It reportedly cost nearly 300 million yuan ($42.82 million) to produce, and it contains numerous action scenes. The film's visual effects and CGI were produced by More VFX, the same special effects company behind the Chinese sci-fi epic "The Wandering Earth."

According to producers, Netflix also purchased the distribution rights of the film for releasing it outside of China.

It is of great significance to see the two major streaming giants cooperate. Film producers said in a statement, "On the one hand, releasing the film online will provide some relief to the struggling production company in the nick of time, and it will also help lead to innovations and changes within the industry."

China's cinemas have been shut down since January due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been anxiously waiting for reopening for months, and in recent months numerous cinemas and movie companies have gone bankrupt or permanently shut down.

"On the other hand, this simultaneous global online release has also made 'Double World' the first Chinese-language movie ever to be launched in both China and abroad simultaneously. This is a milestone event for the future of exporting Chinese movies and Chinese culture in general," the statement added.

"Double World" is set in a fictional universe comprised of ten states. The film tells the story of a warlord who organizes a competition to amass his strongest warriors, which he holds in response to the burgeoning power of a neighboring state. After learning about this development, Dong Yilong, a valiant young villager, decides to join the competition despite the doubts from his village . 

The film is based on a MMORPG game developed by Giant Network that has more than 300 million players. Giant Pictures, a film production branch of Giant Network, produced the film, and Giant Network wanted to release this film in celebration of the game's 15th anniversary. The film was also jointly produced by Filmko Entertainment and Alibaba Pictures.

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