"Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen", the latest film about one of the best-known action heroes on China's screens, will hit local cinemas in October, producers have announced.

Investors said at a press conference on Monday that they are expecting a box-office take of 500 million yuan (US$73.3 million). That number, if reached, would make the film one of the most profitable Chinese-language films of all time. "The Founding of a Republic", last year's box-office leader, earned 420 million yuan.

Donnie Yen, who portrayed the fictitious martial-arts hero Chen Zhen in a 1995 TV drama, reprises the role that has also been played by Bruce Lee and Jet Li. A frequent character on China's big and small screens, Chen Zhen is usually portrayed as a student of martial-arts legend Huo Yuanjia (1867-1910).

"Unlike Bruce Lee's Chen Zhen who's uneducated, or Jet Li's version, Donnie Yen has to go further. Yen's Chen Zhen returns to China from France, and is more mature and romantic than previous incarnations," explained Gordon Chan, the film's producer.

According to the production team, Yen's Chen Zhen is a special agent who works against Japanese spies in 1920s Shanghai.

The film also stars Shu Qi, Anthony Wong and Huang Bo.