Highlights
- During a conversation Simu Liu announced that Timo Tjahjanto is confirmed to direct the long-in-development Sleeping Dogs movie adaptation.
- Liu also confirmed Tze Chun’s screenplay is completed, signaling real momentum after years in Hollywood limbo.
- With Shang-Chi’s Simu Liu and the Nobody 2 director, Sleeping Dogs gains new commercial and creative credibility.
The long-awaited live-action adaptation of the 2012 action-adventure game Sleeping Dogs receives a new production update with director Timo Tjahjanto leading the project. Simu Liu first publicly announced the adaptation of Square Enix’s crime-thriller game in early 2025 and confirmed his dual role as lead actor and producer for the project.
During a conversation to promote his new Peacock show, The Copenhagen Test, Liu confirmed that Tjahjanto will direct the upcoming Sleeping Dogs adaptation. He also informed that the movie’s script that Tze Chun has been working on is already completed.
Tjahjanto also confirmed the update with an X (formerly Twitter) post on Dec 28, 2025. The famed Nobody 2 and The Night Comes for Us director showed his excitement about the project with a tagline, “We’ll cross the oceans of time to make this,” on his X post.
From Video Game Roots to Big Screen: Sleeping Dogs' Journey
Sleeping Dogs, developed by United Front Games and published by Square Enix in August 2012, earned critical praise for its Hong Kong setting, martial arts combat, narrative depth, and open-world design. A lot of publishers, such as Forbes, have described the game as having a similar narrative to Grand Theft Auto (GTA).
Despite the title’s enduring reputation, it never made it to blockbuster status, thus not receiving a sequel or any plans for extension. According to the publisher, Sleeping Dogs sold roughly 1.75M units, and “failed to meet” its target.
Much like the game’s production, the Sleeping Dogs film has existed in Hollywood limbo for much of the last decade. An earlier version, announced in 2017 with Hong Kong cinema star Donnie Yen attached, ultimately stalled and was shelved. Now, finally, with a Marvel star and a famed director attached to the project, the movie is likely to come to life. A potential release date or cast members other than Liu have not been confirmed.
Liu’s casting as Wei Shen signals a commitment to preserving the protagonist’s complex arc: a Hong Kong-American undercover cop infiltrating the city’s Sun On Yee Triad. Liu, best known for his role as Marvel’s Shang-Chi, has been publicly vocal about his belief in the IP’s cinematic potential, even as studios initially questioned the project’s commercial prospects.
On the other hand, director Timo Tjahjanto brings experience with visceral fight sequences and the noir-action genre. His credits include The Night Comes for Us (2018), a Netflix-distributed martial arts thriller known for its brutal, stylized choreography; May the Devil Take You (2018), a horror piece; and Nobody 2 (2025), a Hollywood action sequel starring Bob Odenkirk.
Despite key production elements remaining unconfirmed, these alignments and the current Hollywood trend of adapting video game narratives into movies and series provide a favorable situation for Liu’s project.
