Growing up watching white actors portraying Asian characters in film and television was nothing short of mystifying for director Justin Lin.

Eight years old when he first laid eyes on Caucasian star David Carradine in the lead role as half-Chinese martial artist Kwai Chang Caine in 1970s series Kung Fu, he admits: “I was confused – I didn’t know why he was speaking in broken English.”

Hong Kong-American actor, director and real-life martial arts expert Bruce Lee was actually in contention for the role that went to Carradine, although he lost out as it was considered risky at that time for an Asian actor to lead a TV show.

Disappointed at being overlooked, Lee penned the basis for a series titled The Warrior – about a young Chinese immigrant living in San Francisco during the 1800s, at the height of the Tong Wars.

While it never saw the light of day, it’s long been a part of Bruce Lee lore. Since hearing about Lee’s original idea, Lin (The Fast and the Furious franchise) has had a burning desire to bring his idol’s vision to life. Now, almost 50 years after Lee conceived of it, Warrior makes its much-anticipated debut.

A highly sophisticated, super-slick production described as a combination of style, pulp and period, it’s everything you could want out of a martial arts project. It’s also a poignant tribute to Lee’s enduring legacy that he would no doubt approve of.

A REAL PASSION PROJECT

Lin has the kind of respect and admiration for Lee’s work and ethos that you want out of a director delving into his world.

His fascination began when he first saw Lee in 1972’s The Way of the Dragon. “Watching Bruce Lee on TV was sort of like this transformative moment for me.

I just watched this guy and his confidence and the way he moved and the speed in which he moved… It was like I’d just discovered a whole new world and I became obsessed with him after that,” Lin admits. “It really was empowering.”

FROM PAGE TO SCREEN

Lee’s eight-page pitch has become something of an urban legend over the decades, so when his daughter Shannon Lee confirmed the papers actually existed, Lin was gobsmacked.

“It was amazing to… finally have the typed papers in my hand,” Lin reflects. “I knew at that point that if we could build it right, it was to really honour the spirit of what [Lee] was trying to do.”

Of course, making an almost-50-year-old concept work for a modern-day audience was no easy task, and much time was spent agonising over how to update and expand upon Lee’s premise without compromising its integrity.

“There were a lot of changes in pacing, in how we were going to explore certain issues,” Lin reveals, adding: “Cinema and TV, and storytelling have really evolved.”

Lin and Shannon both serve as executive producers on the ambitious project, of which Lin says, “I can’t help but feel the pride of correcting a wrong and helping bring Bruce Lee’s dream project to life.”

WHAT AUDIENCES CAN EXPECT

Set in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1878, the 10-part series centres on martial arts wunderkind Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) – an immigrant from China in the lead-up to the Chinese Exclusion Act (which banned Chinese immigration) of the 1880s.

After impressing one of the city’s most powerful tongs (rival organised crime families), he is branded and enlisted to do their dirty work.

“We wanted to take this time in history and take the racism and take the immigrant experience but move it into a more elaborate and heightened world,” explains co-creator and writer Jonathan Tropper.

“There are moments where I slip some of Lee’s famous phrases into the dialogue… Certain fight moves we steal right out of Bruce Lee movies. It’s all done really to pay respect to the master.”

Production went to great lengths to avoid the use of green screens, opting instead to create a fully immersive, tactile world – complete with real food and smells – for the characters to interact with on a huge sound stage.

THE CASTING PROCESS

“Casting the main character, Ah Sahm, I knew was going to be a challenge… and it was going to be a global search,” Lin explains. “It took a while… I [don’t think there were] any rocks left unturned.”

When British-born Koji auditioned, he blew everyone away.

“There was something so introspective but also quietly fierce about Andrew that really just felt right,” Shannon reveals. From the actor’s perspective, however, the idea of landing the role of the martial arts prodigy was a pipedream.

“I never thought I’d be able to play Ah Sahm because I’d never seen a lead Asian guy in a show before,” he admits candidly. “I’m blessed that I get to do this.”

A LEGACY LIVES ON

“I’d like to think that if Bruce Lee saw the show, he’d be proud,” Lin declares. Adds Shannon: “I’m so thrilled to see this show come to fruition. To be able to honour my father and his legacy in this way is more meaningful than there are words to say. This show is… very Bruce Lee.”

WARRIOR Stream* the complete season or watch new episodes every week from June 12, Wednesdays at 9.30pm on FOX8 [108] part of the ENTERTAINMENT pack

Words: Carolyn Hiblen