Journey to the West: Kingdom of Women
The 2018 finale of Zheng Baorui's Journey to the West trilogy, depicting the romantic and perilous adventures of the pilgrims after they stray into the Kingdom of Women.
The Monkey King 3 is a 3D fantasy romantic adventure film directed by Zheng Baorui. Released during the Lunar New Year period on the first day of the 2018 Spring Festival, it serves as the finale to the "Journey to the West" trilogy by New Asia Entertainment, with a running time of approximately 114 minutes. Aaron Kwok continues his role as Sun Wukong, Feng Shaofeng returns as Tang Sanzang, Xiao Shenyang plays Bajie, and Luo Zhongqian portrays Sha Wujing. Zhao Liying makes a guest appearance as the Queen of Womenland, and Gigi Leung plays the Court Tutor. The plot is adapted from the "Kingdom of Women" arc of Journey to the West: the four disciples accidentally enter the Western Liang Kingdom, a land where only daughters are born and men are viewed as harbingers of doom. Upon their arrival, the Queen falls in love with Tang Sanzang at first sight. Meanwhile, the kingdom faces the trial of a mysterious magnetic field barrier that can only be broken by true love. The film focuses on Tang Sanzang's internal struggle between love and Buddha, and between the salvation of all sentient beings and his feelings for one person, transforming the Kingdom of Women from a mere stopover in the original novel into the central emotional thread of the entire movie. Co-produced by Filmko and New Asia Entertainment, it is the most romantic installment of the trilogy, grossing over 700 million yuan (approximately 114 million USD) worldwide.