Cast member Takeshi Kaneshiro (center) talks about the new film "Red Cliff II" as director John Woo (right) and actress Zhao Wei look upon during the film's premiere in Beijing on January 4, 2009. [ent.sina.com.cn]

The fervor over the war epic "Red Cliff" is building to a crescendo with director John Woo set to present a sequel to the most bankable Chinese film in history.

Woo on Sunday led cast members of "Red Cliff II" at its premiere in Beijing.

The sequel will open in theaters on Wednesday, roughly five months after the previous film bagged over 300 million yuan (US$43.97 million) to set a new record for Chinese-language films.

A survey conducted earlier by Sina.com.cn shows that 93 percent of the respondents expected the sequel.

(L-R) Takeshi Kaneshiro, John Woo and Tony Leung promote their new film "Red Cliff II" at its premiere in Beijing on January 4, 2009. [ent.sina.com.cn]

John Woo shot the two films as a whole with a hefty investment of US$80 million. However, he decided to release the production in two segments, saying that by doing so it allows enough space for character development.

The "Red Cliff" series revolves around a well-known water battle in 208 A.D., and the biggest scenes involve at least 2,000 actors and crew members.

The first segment focuses on the eve of the battle and the sequel reprises the actual battle in which thousands of ships are burnt. Movie-goers can expect to see magnificent battle scenes in the upcoming film.