Even in the erratic world of the Oscar nominations and their eventual award winners, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a kind of oddity. One of only a handful of foreign films to ever receive a Best Picture nominations, and still the highest-grossing foreign-language film to ever be released in the U.S., the film marked a major boon for both the martial-arts market in America and for director Ang Lee, who picked up a Golden Globe for Best Director and has been nominated for both awards since. In fact, the Best Director Oscar loss was quickly made up when the director won the category twice in the years since, for Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi.


So, making a sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon isn't exactly a surprise, but it's a bit strange that the endeavor took this long to get to a screen, whether big or small. Now, Netflix and The Weinstein Company are teaming up to release Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny via the streaming service and on select IMAX screens, with Michelle Yeoh returning to her role from the original. The new trailer for the film, which you can take a look at below, suggests that the new film will be denoted by the same historical drama and awe-inspiring fight scenes that made the original a big hit. And considering that the film is directed by famed fight choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping, who worked on Kill Bill, The Matrix, Kung Fu Hustle, and, most recently, Wong Kar-wai's absolutely brilliant The Grandmaster, the visuals should at the very least be worth the watch.

Here's the official synopsis for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny:


Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny tells an epic story of lost love, young love, a legendary sword and one last opportunity at redemption, set against breathtaking action in an epic martial arts battle between good and evil that will decide the fate of the Martial World.

crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-sword-of-destiny-poster-netflix