Đồng Ánh Quỳnh (right) has been selected to become the first main female villain in a Vietnamese action film. She will be featured in Thanh Sói, a movie directed and produced by Ngô Thanh Vân (left). — VNS Photo Xuân Đăng

HCM CITY — At a press conference on Monday to announce the filming of action movie Thanh Sói produced by Studio68, the director and producer Ngô Thanh Vân said that Đồng Ánh Quỳnh will play the role of the main villain.

Quỳnh competed with more than 300 other candidates for the role.

Over the past year, Quỳnh has undergone extremely difficult training, from acting to martial arts, to prepare for this role.

She will act in the first Vietnamese movie ever about a female villain.

Accompanying Quỳnh as Thanh Sói in the movie are young actors such as Tóc Tiên, Rima Thanh Vy, Song Luân, and Thuận Nguyễn.

"After almost two years since the blockbuster Hai Phượng (Furie) was released and received unexpected success, we immediately came up with the idea for the villain Thanh Sói in the movie, a character that received great support from the audiences," Vân said at the press conference.

The movie, Thanh Sói, features the gangster when she was a child and teenager. Her tragic life, before entering the gang, is also included.

Vân revealed that the movie Thanh Sói has twice the budget of Hai Phượng, which reflects the effort that she has made for the project.

After Hai Phượng's success, Vietnamese audiences began to have more faith in the action movie genre “made in Việt Nam”, especially when they are produced and directed by Ngô Thanh Vân.

Thanh Sói will be produced and directed by Ngô Thanh Vân and Aaron Toronto, in collaboration with Hollywood action experts like Yannick Michel and Samuel Kefi Abrikh.

Filming begins this month and the movie is scheduled to be released later next year. VNS