It seems like Spiderman may be climbing the Great Wall China in the near future. Apparently, as reported in a recent Google news article, POW Entertainment creator Stan Lee has just joined up with an investment company in Hong Kong “that aims to roll out a new superhero franchise targeted at Chinese and foreign audiences.” Magic Storm Entertainment is the name of the new company that is set to work on its “first film project later this summer.” Lee is incredibly excited, and commented in a statement, “I have been eagerly awaiting this great opportunity — a chance to combine the best of American superhero epics with the best of Chinese and Asian classical filmmaking for a motion picture that would be excitedly received worldwide.”
New Characters for China?
There is no news right now if there will be a development of new characters for the new movie or if a new story will be written for this “flagship characters, many of which have already been adapted for the big screen.” Right now no one knows if the movie will feature real actors or be an animation either. Time will tell.
Getting Down to Business
In terms of business, the partnership will take place between Panda Media Partners and Ricco Capital Holdings as well as a conjoining of POW! Entertainment with Fidelis Global Enterprises, headed by Eric Mika (former Hollywood Reporter publisher) a media consulting company. It’s likely to be a success given historical statistics of Lee’s company. Indeed, over 2 million comic books “have been published in 75 nations and in 25 languages,” so clearly this is a good sign for the new Chinese venture.
Or is it? Maybe not. Apparently, according to the Google article, they “do not appear to have a big following in mainland China.” Does that mean all hope is lost? Absolutely not. Lee’s characters have been adapted in movies that have “done strong business in China, which is “fast becoming one of Hollywood’s key markets despite a quota that effectively limits the country to 20 major foreign productions a year. Lee’s strategy is likely to capitalize on the popularity of those movies.”
No Nickel and Diming
At the end of the day, the $$$s speak for themselves. There is no fear of lack of success when Spiderman climbs the Great Wall of China. And this is because of how successful Spiderman I, II and III have been in China, reaping a combined $30m. It seems like that simple statistic is all the data Lee will need before he starts enjoying a plate of deep-fried rice and bowl of wonton soup.