RZA's 'Man with the Iron Fists' Lands Release Date

Quentin Tarantino is making the trip out to San Diego for Comic-Con 2012, where the pop culture-savy filmmaker will be promoting his next directorial effort, Django Unchained (look for our live panel coverage this weekend).

That accounts for why Universal is taking advantage of Comic-Con to announce the official release date for The Man with the Iron Fists. The film is Wu-Tang clan co-founder RZA's love-letter to old-school Kung Fu cinema, and comes with an official stamp of approval from Tarantino (who's earned a 'Presented By' credit for his part).

RZA starred in and directed Man with the Iron Fists, working from a screenplay he co-wrote with Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel). The cast is rounded out by Lucy Liu, Russell Crowe, Pam Grier, Rick Yune, Cung Lee, and former professional wrestler David Bautista. Here is the official synopsis:

Since his arrival in China's Jungle Village, the town's blacksmith (RZA) has been forced by radical tribal factions to create elaborate tools of destruction. When the clans' brewing war boils over, the stranger channels an ancient energy to transform himself into a human weapon. As he fights alongside iconic heroes and against soulless villains, one man must harness this power to become savior of his adopted people.

Man with the Iron Fists will open in U.S. theaters on November 2nd, 2012, where it will face off against Disney's 3D animated movie, Wreck-It Ralph, and Robert Zemeckis' (return to) live-action drama, Flight. There should be little to no overlap between the three titles at the box office. RZA's initial venture into the realm of feature-length filmmaking will nonetheless have more niche appeal (as opposed to its mainstream peers).

The red-band Man with the Iron Fists trailer was heavy on risque material, stringing evocative imagery together with fantastical martial arts sequences and gory violence. RZA's project seems like the sort of title destined for cult status ' even it proves to be little more than Hip-Hop flash married together with Kung Fu bang.

Additional footage from Man with the Iron Fists could conceivably be screened as a 'surprise' at the Django Unchained Comic-Con panel, much like scenes from The Host were shown during the Breaking Dawn ' Part 2 panel (and a Lone Ranger teaser closed out the Disney panel). It certainly seems like the sort of movie that'd go over well with the Comic-Con crowd.

Keep an eye on Screen Rant's Comic-Con page for our continued coverage of the event.

Source: Universal