Exclusive: Jackie Chan and Stanley Tong are returning to film in Dubai

'Vanguard' will be the duo's second shoot in the city following 2015's 'Kung Fu Yoga'

A handout photo of Jackie Chan in "Kung Fu Yoga" (Courtesy: Gulf Film) *** Local Caption ***  al01fe-movies-chan.jpg
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Superstar martial artist Jackie Chan and Hong Kong action director Stanley Tong are set to return to Dubai for shooting next week, and mercifully it won't be for a follow up to Kung Fu Yoga, the fraught China/India co-production which took over the city in 2015 with a flurry of Ferraris, fights, and falling-out international production companies.

This time the pair will reunite, for the sixth time for Vanguard, with London, Taiwan and India among the other filming locations, according to IMDB. Details of the film are fairly sparse at present, but we know it will deal with an international security company who are hired to protect a Chinese businessman and his daughter from a shadowy terrorist group.

Teen heartthrob Yang Yang and actress/model Miya Muqi are among Chan's co-stars, while Sparkle Roll Media, who also co- produced Kung Fu Yoga, are once again the production company.

Last time Chan and Tong were in Dubai, onlookers were thrilled to see the cast racing supercars around Downtown, while guests at Atlantis, The Palm, were surprised to get out of the lift to see legions of duelling martial artists blocking their route to reception.

There's no word on specific locations for the upcoming shoot as of yet, but we understand it will be on a similar scale to Kung Fu Yoga and will, like that film, offer opportunities to a significant number of local crew and would-be cast members.

The National has reached out to Dubai-based Alkatraz Productions, who handled local production on Kung Fu Yoga, however they were unable to comment on the forthcoming shoot. Dubai Film and TV Commission have also been contacted.

Next week looks set to be a busy one in the UAE's film and TV calendar, with Pierce Brosnan's The Misfits also shooting in Abu Dhabi from February 18. And while the combination may not be on quite the same stellar level as when Star Wars: The Force Awakens and FF7 both filmed in Abu Dhabi in 2015 (Kung Fu Yoga itself shot simultaneously in Dubai with Star Trek Beyond), it seems a sure sign that the local industry is in fine health going into 2019.