A More stellar extravaganza than "The Founding of a Republic"?

Director Han Sanping has revealed that a prequel to his historical movie "The Founding of a Republic", set for general release this Thursday, is set to be made and released in 2011.

Han Sanping speaks at a premiere ceremony in Guangzhou,  Guangdong on Tuesday, September 15, 2009. [Photo: sina.com]

The prequel, which will be about the founding of China's Communist Party, will feature more stars than "The founding of a Republic". Young rising stars will be casts since the characters will be 20 years younger, Han said.

As the chairman of China Film Group Corporation, China's largest and most influential state-run film enterprise, Han Sanping made his directorial debut, "The Founding of a Republic", with a peerless stellar cast.

The 172-strong cast included some 80 A-list actors and actresses, and the country's top directors.

Many of them appeared for only several seconds in the 140-minute movie. For example, action star Jet Li has only three lines and director John Woo's scenes have been totally removed.