This month marks the 50th anniversary of the martial arts classic “Enter the Dragon (also known as Dragon operation)”, the film that catapulted Bruce Lee to international stardom. In honor of this milestone, Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee will reveal a new anime series called “House of Lee“, produced by Bruce Lee Entertainment and the content platform shibuyain collaboration with its co-founder, the artist Emily Yang. “House of Lee” will be the first anime project based on Bruce Lee and is scheduled to premiere in 2024.
The Bruce Lee Entertainment Teamthe creative intellectual property and production arm of The Bruce Lee Family Companies, has been looking to make an animated project based on Bruce Lee for years. Shannon Lee was ultimately inspired by personal experiences to create the story behind “House of Lee.” “Anime is an amazing medium to tell a really creative story where Bruce Lee can be Bruce Lee.“, said. “I am very excited by the possibilities of action, fantasy, history, culture and creativity within this medium.“.
“House of Lee” is an action-fantasy series that features Bruce Lee fighting to recruit his Dragon Warriors before the world falls into darkness and shadow. It is inspired by the famous Bruce Lee quote: “Those who are unaware that they walk in the dark will never seek the light.“.
Through a community campaign, something Shibuya specializes in, the company and Bruce Lee Entertainment have managed to independently produce the project. Lee chose Shibuya as a partner after watching their anime short film “White Rabbit“, co-created by Yang, known in the web3 space as ppl please. “I love the perspective of Emily and ShibuyaLee said. “They are such creative, hard-working and skilled artists with an amazing brand, I knew they would be the perfect collaborators. The organic way it all came together speaks volumes for our potential collaboration and it’s been great!“
Shannon Lee had seen “White Rabbit” via Dennis Chang, Managing Partner of Bruce Lee, LLC. “He hooked us up and she told me about her ‘House of Lee’ project, which is an anime about the legacy of the Lee family.Yang said. “I immediately identified with the narrative as it touches on spirituality, fighting your inner demons, and many aspects of the AAPI experience. With it being such a personal story, Shannon wanted to retain creative control and ownership. At Shibuya, our mission is to help creators do just that, so I knew this was something we needed to get involved in.“.
In “Enter the Dragon,” recruited by an intelligence agency, Lee, a martial arts student, participates in a brutal tournament at a remote island fortress in an attempt to gather enough evidence to convict the international drug lord responsible for the murder of Lee’s sister. In the iconic final fight scene to the death, two men enter a mirror maze, but only one will emerge. The anniversary screenings will feature an introduction by film historian Leonard Maltin, who will examine the legacy of “Enter the Dragon” as the first kung fu action movie produced by a Hollywood studiowhose meticulous fight sequences continue to influence the genre to this day.
