How Bruce Lee’s Warrior TV series was brought to life by his daughter and Fast and Furious director Justin Lin
- In the 1970s the martial arts star came up with a TV series about a Chinese martial artist wandering America’s Old West. The studios turned him down but released a similar series Kung Fu, with American actor David Carradine
- Lee’s daughter Shannon talks about finding her father’s drawings and notes and joining forces with Justin Lin to make the series
For decades, it was a half-whispered rumour – another puzzle piece in the already considerable urban mythology surrounding Bruce Lee.
This murky tale involved a television show – one that Lee had longed to make but never got the chance to. Another strand is a studio allegedly making a very similar sounding series with a white actor as the lead.
It would have remained an unsubstantiated footnote in Hollywood history meriting perhaps a few short paragraphs in a biography of the martial arts master and cultural trailblazer.
But decades after his death in 1973, Lee’s daughter went through his belongings and stumbled across a collection of drawings and notes – handwritten and typed – describing his vision for an unfulfilled passion project.
Her discovery led to Lee’s vision finally being realised. Premiering on Cinemax and HBO Go on April 6, the series Warrior is the tale of martial arts prodigy Ah Sahm – played by Fast & Furious 6 star Andrew Koji – who emigrates from China to San Francisco in the 1800s.
Searching for a mystery woman from his past, he finds himself caught up in the tong wars, the brutal battles fought between the city’s powerful Chinese organised crime families, or tongs.
