Chinese Superstar Wu Jing Joins Jason Statham in Warner’s ‘Meg 2,’ Li Bingbing Exits the Mega-Shark Franchise (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Wu Jing, the highest-grossing male actor of all time in China, will join British action star Jason Statham in Warner Bros.’s “Meg 2: The Trench,” sources close to the production have confirmed to Variety.The giant shark actioner, however, will be without Li Bingbing (“Transformers: Age of Extinction”).

The Chinese actor, who played a female oceanographer, embodying both brains and beauty in Jon Turteltaub’s testosterone-fueled 2018 “The Meg,” is not returning to the franchise at this point.With Ben Wheatley in the directing chair, production on “Meg 2: The Trench” began at the end of January at the Warner-owned Leavesden Studios outside London.

It will continue there until May before switching to outdoor locations, likely to be in Asia. The 47-year-old Wu is a former martial artist who has successfully parlayed a career as both actor and director in film and in TV.

A protégé of the iconic action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, Wu enjoyed early success in Hong Kong-made titles including “SPL” (2005) and “Invisible Target” (2007) and had a minor role in 2008’s “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” behind Brendan Fraser and Jet Li.Wu wrote and directed mainland Chinese actioner “Wolf Warrior” in 2015, which earned a decent $80 million at the Chinese box office.