25 Aug - Tsui Hark is set to co-produce an upcoming movie about the Chinese pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao. As reported on Deadline, the upcoming movie, titled "Shih, Queen of the Sea" is written by Anthony McCarten, who has penned various projects that include, "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Darkest Hour". The movie will revolve around Shih Yang aka Zheng Yi Sao, a woman born into poverty who rose to fame after meeting pirate leader Cheng Yi and assuming full command of over 1,800 pirate ships following the latter's death. Said Tsui Hark, "I couldn't be more excited to tackle the vastly cinematic and almost unbelievable story of Shih Yang, who, as Anthony superbly tells it, and as history confirms, rose from being a poor worker on a Canton floating brothel to command a vast pirate fleet who could not be defeated by the combined colonial powers of the British, Dutch and Portuguese or by the naval force of the Qing Dynasty."
This isn't the first time that the character of Zheng Yi Sao has appeared in a movie. In 2007, a character played by Takayo Fischer named Mistress Ching that is loosely based on Zheng Yi Sao was featured in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End". The movie is scheduled to be filmed in mid-2024 in China and Malaysia.