Missing elephant jokes aside, this is big news for Jaa with the original Tom Yum Goong - released as The Protector in North America - marking both his last true hit and the beginnings of his troubles. It was immediately after Tom Yum Goong that Jaa essentially declared Pinkaew unnecessary and unwanted, announcing that he would direct his next film himself. Pinkaew was deeply insulted and the relationship between the star and the director who built his career degraded to the point where they weren't even on speaking terms. Pinkaew would go on to groom Jija Yanin in Chocolate while Jaa would crumble badly under the pressure of directing Ong Bak 2 himself, eventually losing control of the badly over budget and over schedule project.
But Tom Yum Goong 2 will reunite the entire Tom Yum Goong / Ong Bak team with Jaa in the lead, Pinkaew directing, Rittikrai handling fight choreography and Chocolate star Jija Yanin also handed a significant role - the first time Jaa has ever shared the stage with another marquee fighter. Like the upcoming Chocolate 2, this film will be shot in digital 3D.
Jaa & Yanin are going to knee strike the moon out of its orbit and break the space-time continuum, plunging us all into a whirling vortex of doom. IN 3D!
