Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark is planning a sequel to his martial arts epic "Seven Swords", the curtain raiser at this week's Venice Film Festival

    "We've already got the script. I'll sit down working on it after traveling to Venice, Seoul and Tokyo later this year," he told reporters.

    Tsui said neither the production budget nor the release date was finalized.

    "We are still casting for the new characters. The scale will be different in the sequel," he said.

    Set in 17th-century China, "Seven Swords" tells the story of seven swordsmen, who try to evade an imperial decree banning the practice of martial arts.

    Tsui said the seven masters, including those played by Hong Kong heartthrob Leon Lai and Taiwan actress Charlie Young, will appear in the sequel.

    "Seven Swords", which cost US$18 million to make, has taken more than HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) at the box office on the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

    While "Seven Swords" will open the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday, another Hong Kong film, "Perhaps Love" by director Peter Chan is expected to close the festival.