John Woo's next project

John Woo recently talked to Empire about his future projects.The next movie that he'll direct is a Chinese-language epic (something on a similar scale to Red Cliff ) that sees him make a rare foray into romance. "It's like a Romeo and Juliet love story," he says. "A love story, but with war scenes."

About Hard Boiled 2: "I'm involved as producer. We're working on the script and I'm sure it's gonna be a very interesting movie, but it won't be ready until years from now."Chow Yun-Fat's involvement is still in the balance, according to Woo.

About 1941 (Woo's previously-announced historical epic): "I had to pass because we had so many problems with the people who owns the rights," the director told Empire. "We couldn't make a deal so I had to give it up. It's a little painful since we spent so long developing the story and we found very good actors."

Six years have passed since Paycheck (his last Hollywood movie),John Woo has settled in Beijing and has no immediate plans to return to the US, although he's not ruling it out. "I will make more Chinese movies, but if I get a better script [from Hollywood] I will do it again."

It's a shame that Western audiences won't see the complete Red Cliff (the two-part, four and half-hour version, although it's available on Asian DVD and Blu-Ray).