'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' actress Michelle Yeoh says Asian films promote stronger female roles

Malaysian-born actress Michelle Yeoh opened up about the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" sequel "Sword Of Destiny" to be released this month.  She also touched on the Hollywood debate on the lack of diversity, adding that Asian films seem to have stronger female roles.

Sixteen years after introducing the first film, the sequel will see only Yeoh 's character returning to the screen again. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" earned an Oscar and garnered more than $200 million at the global box office. The film was reported to be the most successful foreign language crossover film.

"There was always talk [of a sequel], right from the beginning,"  Yeoh told The Daily Beast in an interview. She said that when a film is successful it is an automatic reaction for those in the film industry to think of a sequel.

Yeoh reprises her role as Yu Shu Lien, the Wudang  warrior who is called upon to  protect a powerful sword  called the Green Destiny. As the storyline goes, Yeoh's character picks up 20-years later after losing her unrequited love interest. Her character is teamed up with Donnie Yen who plays a long lost love mentioned briefly in the first film.

Asian stars Chow Yun Fat and Zhang Ziyi are absent from the sequel. Yeoh explained during her interview that she knew from the start that director Ang Lee would never do a sequel or remake of the  film.

"If you look at his (Lee's) repertoire of films you never know from one subject to the next subject where he's going to take you.That is the beauty and the glory of Ang," Yeoh told the publication."I knew there was no way that if ever we did "Crouching Tiger 2" that Ang would be the director."

The star of "The Lady" commented on the  ongoing diversity debate in Hollywood. Yeoh said it was  unfortunate when certain groups in the film industry feel unrepresented and forgotten. 

The "Sword Of Destiny" is a rare series which is led by distinct female lead characters. Yeoh added that those in the industry are constantly fighting for better roles for women. "I think in Asia we seem to have stronger female roles," she said. Adding "I have  had the privilege of playing some of them."

Meanwhile,"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny," will hit theaters in the United States this weekend.  However, it will only play at a few IMAX theatres around the country, the LA Times reported.

Furthermore, some of the biggest theater chains have disapproved of Netflix's plan to release the movie online. The film is to be made available to subscribers of the online streaming site on the same day it opens in theatres.

The decision by Netflix has reignited a longstanding conflict between Hollywood and streaming services on when movies should be released. Theaters owners claim the move undermines their business, the publication reported. 

Catch the trailer of "Sword Of Destiny" below