If You Love An Epic Fight Scene, Add This New Netflix Show To Your Watchlist

Netflix may have recently canceled a few fan-beloved shows, but that isn't stopping the company from continuing to roll out new series in virtually every genre imaginable. Come Aug. 8, the streaming giant will once again expand its catalog with its first original martial arts series, Wu Assassins. The fantasy crime drama will have to find an audience before getting green-lit for Wu Assassins Season 2, but the plot seems interesting enough to spark some intrigue among viewers who love epic fight scenes and mystical lore, so fingers crossed that there will be more to come.

Per Netflix, Wu Assassins stars Iko Uwais as Kai Jin, a rising San Francisco chef who encounters a mystical spirit that changes his life. The show follows Kai as he discovers he's the latest in a long line of assassins who must keep Wu powers away from evil people trying to end the world. However, based on the Wu Assassins trailer, Kai isn't immediately onboard. Despite being a gifted fighter who's apparently able to shift his physical appearance, he's reluctant about fulfilling his destiny. Doing so may mean he has to go up against his father, the head of a (probably bad) organization known as the Triad, who possess some supernatural abilities. Kai's father has an arsenal of dangerous fighters at his disposal, so this won't be a battle won easily.

Wu Assassins may remind viewers of Into the Badlands, which makes sense considering its director, Stephen Fung, was an executive producer, director, and fight director on the AMC show. The series also stars Into the Badlands alum Lewis Tan, who recently appeared in Deadpool 2 as Shatterstar. And while the chance to see Tan, a trained fighter, in action once again might be enough motivation for a lot of people to tune in, he's far from the only seasoned martial artist on the show; most of the cast comes from a stunt or fighting background.

In fact, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Fung said Jin and his co-star Katheryn Winnick's distinct fighting style challenged him to approach filming in a new way. "Iko is a famous action star in Southeast Asia and Katheryn is a black belt in Taekwondo, and their action styles are very different from the kind we're used to in Hong Kong action cinema," he said. "It gave me a fresh perspective and pushed me to think out of the box."

Fung further explained that while Uwais' style focuses on aesthetic appeal and fluidity, Winnick's allowed him to really place the audience in the middle of gritty action. So, fans can expect Wu Assassins to have solid fight sequences, a rich, mysterious lore, and a diverse cast with great athletic abilities.

It wouldn't make sense to create a backstory as epic as Wu Assassins' for just one season, so it seems likely that the show's team is angling for a long-term arc. Hopefully, Netflix will renew Wu Assassins and allow them to see their vision through to the end.