Hong Kong Director Peter Chan (The Warlords) is bringing a household mythological ghost-slayer to the big screen for his latest project entitled Jung Ku – The Man From 18th Hell. With a budget of over US$15 million, the film will be a fantasy adventure that the press have labelled as “China’s first superhero movie”.

The story will be set in a time when humans lived alongside gods and demons, and centres around a title character inspired by Zhong Kui, a well-known figure in Chinese mythology who slays ghosts and demons to protect mankind.

Jung Ku is one of four movies that Chan’s company, Cinema Popular, is set to complete next year. The others include The Flying Guillotines, Directed by Dante Lam (previously Teddy Chen was up for that role), serial-killer thriller Queen’s Road Ripper, and The God of Wealth, a light-hearted urban drama set against the backdrop of the global financial crisis.