The sequel to the highest-grossing film in Chinese history has a release date — and it’s soon. The official Weibo account for Battle at Lake Changjin announced that the sequel, Battle at Lake Changjin: Watergate Bridge, is set for release on February 1 this year — the first day of Chinese New Year and just four months after the premiere of the first movie.

The follow-up brings back the same cast from Battle at Lake Changjin, starring Wu Jing (Wolf Warrior) and Jackson Yee from TFBoys.

Battle at Lake Changjin: Watergate Bridge

According to Yu Dong, president of the movie’s production company Bona Film Group, the new war epic continues to explore the journey of Chinese soldiers during the Korean War, but this time, they face an “even tougher battle” — presumably at Watergate Bridge.

In an interview with a Chinese publication, Yu also shared that most of the sequel was filmed at the start of 2021 and finished by the end of the year.

The news of the sequel’s release date sent waves across microblogging platform Weibo. The hashtag ‘Battle at Lake Changjin: Watergate Bridge is set for release on the first day of Chinese New Year’ (#长津湖之水门桥定档大年初一#) had accumulated more than 360 million views at the time of writing.

Excited fans shared their enthusiasm for the upcoming movie, with one commenting, “The story continues! See you in the movie theater on the first day of Chinese New Year.”

Given the massive success of Battle at Lake Changjin, which brought in more than 900 million USD globally, its sequel is likely to do similarly well.

Moreover, the sequel’s release date — the first day of Chinese New Year — is perfectly timed to capitalize on the off-work masses, and suggests that in 2022, we can expect more patriotic films from studios.

Indeed, ​​in a 2022 preview interview with a Chinese publication, Yu shared, “I hope to expand patriotic films so that they can cover different topics.”

Cover image via IMDb