Trivia / The Art of War

• California Doubling: The first and second films were set in Hong Kong and California respectively, but actually filmed in Canada. Surprisingly enough, the third film actually downplays this trope; while Los Angeles doubles up a lot for Seoul, South Korea, it actually has more footage genuinely shot in Seoul than the first movie did in Hong Kong.
• The Other Darrin: Unusually zig-zagged, given that Treach replaces Wesley Snipes for the third film, which was actually shot before the second, meaning that while in release order it goes Snipes-Snipes-Treach, in production order it was actually Snipes-Treach-Snipes.
• Sequel First: With Wesley Snipes unable to make a sequel due to his commitment to the Blade series, and then his tax troubles, the producers decided to revive the series as a vehicle for rapper Treach and shot a sequel in 2006, only for Snipes to return to the US and contact the producers about making a sequel while that film was in post-production. Treach's sequel was therefore shelved and replaced with an official The Art of War II with Snipes, and subsequently turned into The Art of War III.
• The Shelf of Movie Languishment: The third (originally intended to be second) film was originally meant to be released in 2006 or 2007, but got delayed until 2009 when Wesley Snipes returned to the series and shot a new sequel.
• What Could Have Been: Jet Li was originally set to star.

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