Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven
A 2002 joint Hong Kong and Taiwan mythological drama featuring Dicky Cheung's return as Sun Wukong, first broadcast on TVB.
The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra is a costume mythological drama produced by Hong Kong's First Yuan and co-produced by Taiwan's New Peak Film and Mubang International. It premiered on TVB from July 10 to September 2, 2002, consisting of 40 episodes (35 of which aired on TVB), and was directed by Feng Boyuan and Wyman. This series marks Dicky Cheung's second time portraying Sun Wukong following the 1996 TVB production of Journey to the West, and it is the first Sun Wukong-themed series not to be titled "Journey to the West." The plot fictionalizes the karmic entanglements between Wukong and various demons and immortals during his carefree days on Flower-Fruit Mountain, while adapting key segments from the original novel, such as the three attempts to borrow the Plantain Fan, the battle of wits with the White Bone Demon, the Kingdom of Women, and the Webbed-Silk Cave, eventually connecting to the main storyline of the master and disciples' pilgrimage for the scriptures. The production budget reportedly exceeded ten million US dollars, with filming lasting nearly a year. Dicky Cheung invited friends such as Nicholas Tse, Andy Hui, Sammi Cheng, Steven Liang, and Michael So to make guest appearances. With its special effects, humor, and Dicky Cheung's signature "bald Great Sage" look, the series became a representative work of Hong Kong and Taiwanese fantasy dramas in the early 2000s.