The White Storm 2 - Drug Lords

The White Storm 2 - Drug Lords is an upcoming Hong Kong action film directed by Herman Yau, produced by and starring Andy Lau. The film is a thematic sequel in-title-only to the 2013 film, The White Storm, and also stars returning cast member Louis Koo in a different role, while the film will feature a new storyline as well.

The film was first announced on 15 March 2018. Production for The White Storm 2 - Drug Lords began on 23 June 2018 and wrapped up on 12 September 2018 and is slated for theatrical release in July 2019.

Plot
In the quadripartite drug market in Hong Kong, drug dealer Jizo (Louis Koo) gradually expands in collaboration with some Mexican drug lords across the border, followed by a chain of dog-eat-dog events which shock and bring the whole trade on high alert. On the other hand, Yu Shun-tin (Andy Lau), a former triad member who is now a philanthropist and financial tycoon, witnessed his father being consumed by drug addiction during childhood and abhors drugs as deadly foes. Therefore, Yu is offering a bounty of HK$100 million to eliminate the number one drug dealer in Hong Kong, which causes a stir in society. Chief superintendent Lam Ching-fung (Michael Miu) intends to arrest Jizo, but is now responsible for protecting Jizo instead due to the bounty. While feeling helpless, Lam is also attracted to the large bounty offered by Yu, facing a psychological struggle between good and evil. A final battle has broken out between the two tycoons who were once lesser-known brothers from the same triad.

Cast

 * Andy Lau as Yu Shun-tin (余順天)
 * Louis Koo as Jizo (地藏)
 * Michael Miu as Chief Superintendent Lam Ching-fung (林正風)
 * Karena Lam
 * Kent Cheng
 * Cherrie Ying
 * Chrissie Chau
 * Carlos Chan
 * Michelle Wai
 * Cheung Kwok-keung
 * Jimmy Au
 * Alvin Cheung
 * Philippe Joly
 * Faith Lee

Development
On 15 March 2018, Universe Entertainment announced a sequel to The White Storm, will start shooting during the summer and unveiled its teaser film poster, as well as announcing and unveiling the teaser poster of the sequel to the 2017 film, Shock Wave, on the same day. The sequel to the former, titled The White Storm 2 - Drug Lords, will be a thematic sequel to the first film with a new storyline and will feature Louis Koo returning in a different role as well as being the only returning cast member from the first film. Andy Lau, who produced and starred in Shock Wave, joins the cast as well as serving as the film's producer, receiving a reported salary of HK$40 million, while Herman Yau, who directed Shock Wave, will replace Benny Chan as the director for the sequel. According to Universe Entertainment, filming for The White Storm 2 - Drug Lords will take place in Hong Kong and the Philippines, while the budget for the sequel will increase from the first film's budget of US$16 million to US$25 million to intensify the action sequences. A week later, the film was promoted at the 2018 Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (Filmart), which ran from 19 to 22 March 2018.

Filming
Principal photography for The White Storm 2 - Drug Lords began on 23 June 2018 in Hong Kong. Photos from the production set featuring stars Lau and Koo, along with various crew members were released.

On 17 July 2018 at around 8:00 PM, filming of an action scene involving a gun fight and auto chase took place in Fenwick Pier, where cast members Lau and Carlos Chan was present. Filming for that scene lasted until early morning of the next day.

On 22 July 2018, the film held its first press conference in the form of a drug sweep ceremony at a 1:1 replica set of the Central MTR Station at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal which took over five months to construct with a cost of over HK$10 million. The promotion event was attended by director Yau along with cast members Lau, Koo, Michael Miu, Cherrie Ying, Chrissie Chau, Michelle Wai and Cheung Kwok-keung. During the event, Lau and Koo were driven to the MTR station in a police cruiser, while Miu, who portrays a chief superintendent officer, leads a drug raid operation in the set where director Yau and the cast swept away prop cocaine on the ground with brooms.

As filming was coming to an end, a production wrap up ceremony for the film was held on 31 August 2018 at the Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui attended by director Yau and cast members Lau, Koo, Miu, Lam, Cheung, Kent Cheng and Jimmy Au.

Filming for The White Storm 2 - Drug Lords officially concluded on 12 September 2018 after shooting its final scene on location at the actual Central MTR Station with Lau, Miu and director Yau present.

Release
On 18 March 2019, a press conference for the film attended by the cast and crew was held at the 2019 Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART), where it also unveiled its first teaser trailer and a new poster, displaying a release date in July 2019.