Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, starring Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen and Chinese-Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh, will hit Chinese mainland theaters in the 3-D format on Feb 19. [Photo provided to China Daily]

When American scriptwriter John Fusco finished his first version, Yuen was not satisfied with the storyline featuring a good-versus-evil stereotype.

Interestingly, Fusco is known in Hollywood for his knowledge of Chinese history and culture.

He wrote two seasons of the hit TV series Marco Polo, based on the legendary Italian's journeys from Europe to China between 1271 and 1295.

But Yuen saw Fusco's first version as "a Western cowboy action thriller" set against the backdrop of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Yuen, who has been involved with the Chinese martial arts genre for around 40 years, says: "China's fictional wuxia world is like a gigantic vat of dye, which turns good into evil and vice versa, swaying heroes between right and wrong."

The script was revised 10 times over six years, but Yuen did not give his nod until a Chinese screenwriter updated it.

Many Lee fans say they still remember the fighting scenes from the first movie.

A fight on an icy lake highlighted in the stills of the new movie perhaps offers a picture of things to come.

Yuen, also the action director for the first movie, says that nearly 85 percent of the fighting scenes in the new film are "genuine".

While many recent martial arts films have mainly used computer-generated imagery, Yeoh tells China Daily that Yuen will take viewers into the real world of the swordsman.

"They (viewers) will feel they are part of the movie, and also feel the fears of the characters," she says.