Shekhar Kapur all set to direct Bruce Lee's biopic 'Little Dragon'

The young days of martial arts legend Bruce Lee are getting a big screen treatment.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur is all geared up to direct and co-write 'Little Dragon,' a feature film about Bruce Lee's early days in the colorful world of 1950s Hong Kong.

Mary Vernieu, the veteran Hollywood casting director is searching for the actor to play the charismatic teenage Lee.

"The film will be a contemporary take on Bruce Lee who, aside from being considered the most gifted and famous martial artist of all time, is now accepted as a major philosopher in his own right. It is important that audiences today can relate their own lives to the journey of Bruce Lee, who manages to tap into his inner wisdom and harness his true destiny before it's too late," said Kapur in a statement.

The film will be co-scripted and produced by Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee, who runs Bruce Lee Entertainment, a division of the Bruce Lee Family Company, which is dedicated to promoting and protecting Lee's legacy and ideas.

The flick will follow a young Lee as he contends with "his family's disappointment, young love, true friendship, betrayal, racism, deep hardship and the inner fire that threatens to unravel his destiny," according to the producers.

'Little Dragon' is being planned as an official U.S.-China co-production, with several Chinese companies attached to co-finance and co-produce, including Dadi Media Group, Beijing Golden World Pictures, Shanghai Longzhilin Cultural Investment Partnership and Kirin Media.

Yu-San Yu, Allen Tan, Leo Zheng and Jeff Chao, along with Kapur, will serve as executive producers.