Bruce Willis Film Air Strike Getting US Release

Deadline reports that Lionsgate still plans to release the upcoming Air Strike to home video next week even after it was cancelled in Chinese theaters. It was set for an October 26 release in the country, delayed from its original August 17 date. Since Lionsgate is not involved in the China release, it can go ahead and release it here. The World War II movie stars Bruce Willis, Adrien Brody, Fan Bingbing, Liu Ye and Nicolas Tse. Grindstone will also release the movie in limited theatrical release.

The cancellation is said to follow the scandal over the disappearance of BingBing, who only recently resurfaced, according to CNN. BingBing was in the middle of a tax evasion scandal and was removed from local marketing. She later gave a public apology and is now on the hook for a possible huge government fine.

Director Xiao Feng wrote on Weibo: “It’s time to let go. There were so many truths and facts but none of them could help us, and our innocence couldn’t be seen because so many haters defamed us. So many efforts become nothing… It doesn’t mean we give it up. It’s just so hard to walk through it after eight years raising of Air Strike. I apologize to everyone who supported me, to my friends and the crew, to the distribution team and audience who still want to see the film. I believe good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil.”

The film has also been called The Bombing and Unbreakable Spirit. It “follows a group of Chinese spies and refugees who must carry a game-changing decoder device through the war-torn countryside during intense Japanese Air Force attacks.” Willis plays a US Army colonel that trains Chinese pilots to battle Japanese fighters.