Award winning South Korean actress, Song Hye Kyo, is said to be in talks with Hong Kong veteran director, Stephen Chow to replace Huang Shengyi as the female lead in the sequel to Kung Fu Hustle.

At a cost of US$15 million yuan, the sequel will start shooting at the end of this year, and the female lead has not yet finally been confirmed.

Chow, capitalizing on his success this year with Kung Fu Hustle, will be back again as writer, director and star of the sequel. The fat landlady, Yuan Qiu and her husband, Yuan Hua will also continue to feature.

Song Hye Kyo is popular amongst Chinese fans following her recent perfomance as the South Korean pop singer and actor, Rain, in the TV romance Full House.

(CRI November 7, 2005)