Hong Kong actor Donnie Yen attends a news conference announcing the 8th Asian Film Awards.
IN PHOTO: Hong Kong actor Donnie Yen attends a news conference announcing the 8th Asian Film Awards, involving representatives from Busan International Film Festival and Tokyo International Film Festival as organizers for the first time, in Hong Kong February 11, 2014. The event will be held on March 27 in Macau, in which Yen is a celebrity jury. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

Donnie Yen has reportedly joined the casts of “Star Wars: Episode VIII.” The Chinese martial arts expert has landed the role of a Jedi.

According to Straits Times, Hong Kong’s local media outlet Apple Daily has announced that action star Donnie Yen will star in Rian Johnson’s “Star Wars: Episode VIII” along with returning actor Harrison Ford. The action star has reportedly been cast to play as a Chinese Jedi who meets Han Solo and becomes the iconic character’s ally.

It’s believed Donnie Yen was already cast for the Chinese Jedi role about a month ago but is bound by contract not to leak the news. The 51-year old is expected to be in London’s Pinewood Studios early next month to start shooting for “Star Wars: Episode VIII.”

Donnie Yen reportedly won over the role among other contenders which include action stars Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Wang Leehom, Chang Chen, Daniel Wu and Stephen Chow. Among the hopefuls, Yen and Jet Li remained the top two contenders because of their fighting skills. But according to Apple Daily, Yen was favoured by Disney because of his remuneration of US$4 million (S$5.4 million) per movie compared to Li’s US$10 million.

However, Donnie Yen’s involvement in “Star Wars: Episode VIII” still warrants confirmation from Disney and Lucasfilm. According to Straits Times, Apple Daily didn’t provide any direct sources who can provide confirmation for its news.

Apple Daily also mentioned the return of Han Solo in the film. But it’s been highly speculated that the Millennium Falcon pilot will meet his death in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” But his return to “Star Wars: Episode VIII” will definitely be what Starwars7news called as a “game changer.”

This would not be the first time that another martial artist has joined the Star Wars Cinematic Universe. According to Starwars7news, back in January a trio of Indonesian martial arts experts were also cast in J.J. Abrams’ “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

Donnie Yen is most famous for his role in the biographical martial arts film “Ip Man.” The movie talks about the life of Bruce Lee’s Chinese martial arts teacher, whose character was played by Yen.

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