Stephen Chow’s ‘Shaolin Soccer’ Spinoff ‘Kung Fu Soccer’ Sets U.S. Release on October 23, 2026

[u/Sisiwakanamaru]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/stephen-chow-shaolin-soccer-kung-fu-soccer-us-release-1236729727/

[u/Pixel_Voyager_8]

Shaolin Soccer getting a spinoff this many years later is wild 😅

If it keeps that same mix of ridiculous sports action, kung fu and total sincerity, I’m in. The original works because it commits completely to the absurdity instead of winking at it.

[u/Sisiwakanamaru → u/Pixel_Voyager_8]

I watched the movie, it was not as strong as Shaolin Soccer, but, I had a good time with it.

[u/yutingxiang → u/Sisiwakanamaru]

Yeah, it’s a good time overall but suffers from inconsistency and weird editing choices. Sometimes it just feels like arbitrary scenes spliced together. Hard to believe this came from the same guy who wrote and directed the original and Kung Fu Hustle. It feels more like a continuation of a series from a different director. They utilized less actual stunt work and way overused the CGI this time around, too, although the soccer matches are still pretty fun.

[u/cupholdery → u/yutingxiang]

He's fallen off in creativity over time and generally lost passion for filmmaking.

[u/GhostZee → u/cupholdery]

Maybe result of age I guess...

[u/jackofslayers → u/cupholdery]

It is also easy to forget how many pieces have to come together to make a movie great.

People assumed that George Lucas fell off when he made the prequel Star Wars trilogy, but the people who worked on original Star Wars all said that was always how George wanted to make it. It is just that early in his career he had people who could say no to his bad ideas.

[u/sleno9 → u/cupholdery]

I think its also the changing times in terms of comedy films. The slapstick jokes dont hit as well now as they used to

[u/Outrageous-Opinions → u/yutingxiang]

I think people have a rose tinted view of Shaolin Soccer because they absolutely had weird editing choices too

[u/rando_commenter → u/Sisiwakanamaru]

It will never be as good as the first one because the first one was a kind of thank you to all of the people he worked with over the years; it will never have the same kind of heart again.

[u/BlankedCanvas → u/Pixel_Voyager_8]

The spinoff looks like AI slop with a lot of screaming. The trailer itself is aggressively abrasive

[u/ScramItVancity → u/BlankedCanvas]

The CGI was AI-assisted rendered.

[u/AtanatarAlcarinII → u/Pixel_Voyager_8]

Thanks chatGPT

[u/Imperial_Eggroll → u/Pixel_Voyager_8]

The best part of Shaolin Soccer is the whole thing is a get rich quick scheme

[u/ReadyMind]

Just watched it in China. Absolutely terrible movie. Not even a "so bad it is funny" movie. Not worth anyone's time.

[u/warcomet]

seen it already, lets just say the humour is not the same, some parts drag but a lot of funny parts...I gave Shaolin Soccer 10/10, i give this 6.5

[u/warcomet → u/[deleted]]

watched with english subs..i don't watch dubbed.

[u/lambopanda → u/[deleted]]

Main actors speak Mandarin. If there’s a dubbed Cantonese version. It won’t be the same. Journey to the West 2 felt off in both version. Some jokes were meant in Cantonese and some were in Mandarin.

[u/PorkProofPrion]

Really rough start. Weird joke pacing. Gets better during the matches. Terrible acting from the 2 mains. Not really worth a watch.

Already streaming online. Saw someone posted the whole movie on Facebook reels

[u/Jenzintera24 → u/PorkProofPrion]

Agree with all except the acting, I thought they were all fantastic given what they had to work with.

[u/Raidmash → u/PorkProofPrion]

To be fair, shaolin soccer has the exact same problems 😂

[u/chowchan → u/Raidmash]

What was wrong with the acting in the OG? Main cast were pretty much on point (90/early 00s HK comedic acting similar to all his best films).

[u/GGG100 → u/Raidmash]

You don't watch these movies expecting Oscar-worthy acting. That's like going to a fast food and expecting a Michelin star restaurant.

[u/thedailynathan → u/GGG100]

I mean calling Shaolin Soccer fast food cinema is kind of egregious. Just because it's low-brow comedy doesn't mean it was poorly done.

[u/vincentdmartin → u/thedailynathan]

Fast food can still be well made, its just not gonna be nutritious.

[u/mystictroll]

Just stick to the original which is a comedy masterpiece. This new film is garbage.

[u/Temptemphemp]

Sadly, it’s AI slop of the worst kind. An affront to everything that made the original a cult classic.

[u/Missispina → u/Temptemphemp]

If I watch it it’s for the female lead 😭😂

[u/Fair_Ambassador6253]

this new movie sucked. or atleast if you LOVED shaolin soccer, you will hate this one.

[u/CiriOh]

Fortunately this cringe fest is already available in 4K. Worst Chow's movie in years, if not his worst ever.

[u/nonamesamegame]

Waiting. Kung Fu Hustle was a blast.

[u/locustt → u/nonamesamegame]

In which Stephen Chow's character stomps a soccer ball flat and says 'No more soccer!'. I guess times/bank accounts have changed.

[u/Genericname1924]

AI slopfest.

[u/janderkanns]

Looks horribly cheap :/

[u/SurammuDanku]

The only reason to see this movie is Dilreba.....everything else sucked

[u/I_am_from_2029]

I watched it, it's really bad, don't waste your money on it.

[u/noideasforusernameso]

Saw a clip of the English dub on youtube, not sure how they roped actual names into it but it's terrible. Huge fan of the original, and the effects in this new one are somehow worse, not even mentioning the AI slop in some scenes. Handful of funny moments but not enough to make it really worth a ticket

[u/CHRISPYakaKON]

The trailer looks awful

[u/blackfyre709394]

It's slapstick comedy but in an overly childish way that won't resonate well with international audiences....also if you're watching for the plot Diramba doesn't get nearly enough screentime😏

[u/ChunkStumpmon]

Kung fu hustle spinoff!

[u/Jenzintera24]

Chow has massive credit with the Chinese audience. Many of them claimed it sucked but they still watched it for him.

[u/DoctorZoinks]

Anywhere I can watch Shaolin Soccer in English or English subtitles?

[u/nature_nate_17]

I absolutely loved Shaolin Soccer as child and I randomly see a spin off is coming out in a couple weeks?! This is amazing

[u/Tangentkoala]

The stars are aligning for a Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow, and Donnie yen Kung Fu Hustle.

[u/FunGuyBobby]

I will never have enough Stephen Chow! Love his movies!

[u/NoLocal1776]

Ai slop.

[u/MD_FunkoMa]

The advertising is next to none for this film. Its original release is already to eclipse what it'll do here in the states.

[u/Beautiful-Bit9832]

Movie is not strong as predecessor but the box office in China was very wild. Stephen Chow is like very rare talent when he went to serious mode, just look at The Mermaid in 2016.

His comedy sense is always out of place but that thing makes his movie look unique.

[u/in1gom0ntoya]

cant fucking wait

[u/Emergency-Mammoth-88]

Oh yeah. We are so in

[u/McFlyyouBojo]

I was JUST thinking of Shaolin Soccer and showing it to my son. Fuck yeah!

[u/pumpkangs]

Is it woke?

[u/Temptemphemp → u/pumpkangs]

Your mom is woke.

[u/masterwolfe → u/pumpkangs]

As woke as the Odyssey.

[u/pumpkangs → u/masterwolfe]

I don’t like the odyssey

[u/masterwolfe → u/pumpkangs]

Cool, it's about as woke as that.