'Wu Assassins' Trailer: Netflix Drops A Mystical Martial Arts Series Starring Iko Uwais' Version Of Iron Fist

If you have already seen “The Raid” and other films with star Iko Uwais, you know that this guy deserves to be a massive star. He’s one of the best action film actors on the planet, and it’s just a shame that he hasn’t broken out in a big way around the world. Well, Netflix is hoping to change that with the upcoming series “Wu Assassins.”

As seen in the new trailer, “Wu Assassins” features Uwais as a simple chef that gets imbued with the power of 1,000 monks to take on the evil that seems to be populating San Francisco. However, there’s one major problem. You see, the father of our hero happens to be the top dog in the Triad gang, which means that we have an epic father/son clash in the making.

READ MORE: ‘Triple Threat’: A Stacked Cast Of Martial Arts Action Superstars Are Woefully Misused In This Mediocre Shoot ‘Em Up [Review]

Speaking of dogs, the trailer also features what amounts to a theme song by rapper Snoop Dogg. It feels like those classic soundtrack songs that have the musicians using plot points from the series in the lyrics. This song features Snoop rapping about being a badass chef, while “wu” is uttered in the background. It’s cheesy and shouldn’t work in 2019, but somehow just feels right.

Look, “Wu Assassins” definitely isn’t high art, but you can’t help but get caught up in the ridiculousness of it all, with Uwais becoming a defacto superhero and fighting gangs through Chinatown. And if you’re just after a fun martial arts spectacle, then why not?

“Wu Assassins” features a cast that includes  Uwais as Kai Jin, Byron Mann as Uncle Six, Li Jun Li as Jenny Wah, Celia Au as Ying Ying, Lewis Tan as Lu Xin Lee , Lawrence Kao as Tommy Wah, Tommy Flanagan as Alec McCullough, Katheryn Winnick as Christine Gavin, Tzi Ma as Mr. Young, JuJu Chan as Zan, Summer Glau as Miss Jones, Robin McLeavy as Maggie McCullough, and Travis Caldwell as Gideon. The series is created by John Wirth (“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles“) and Tony Krantz (“24“).

“Wu Assassins” will arrive on Netflix on August 8.

Here’s the official synopsis:
Wu Assassins  follows Kai Jin, a young Chinatown chef in present-day San Francisco, as he becomes entangled with the Chinese Triad’s pursuit of deadly ancient powers known as the “Wu Xing.” After an encounter with a mystical spirit, Kai reluctantly becomes the Wu Assassin, using his enhanced martial arts skills to recover supernatural powers from five modern-day criminals threatening to use them to destroy the world.