I Am What I Am 2

Gyun's father is injured in a construction accident and falls into a coma. He eventually wakes at the end of the first film, following the victory of Gyun's team at the lion dance competition in Guangzhou. To earn money to cover his father's medical treatment, Gyun travels to Shanghai to look for work. He is recruited by the declining Chuanwu Kung Fu Gym to be its representative in the "Shanghai Fight Night" martial arts tournament, where he must face competitors and techniques from around the world. ==Voice cast==

• Li Xin as Gyun • Chen Yexiong as Mao () • Guo Hao as Gou () • Cai Xinran as Xiaoyu () • Wang Yilang as Zhang Wate • Zhang Jie as Jin Muyang ==Production==

Development Director Sun Haipeng had not initially planned on creating a sequel to I Am What I Am, but following positive reception after its release, he began development on the second film in March 2022. Although Shanghai was initially chosen merely to take Gyun out of familiar territory, Sun later realized that it had a "strong martial tradition, despite its modern veneer [...] demonstrated by its association with figures like kung fu master Huo Yuanjia". Places the characters live in were based on traditional Shanghainese shikumen architecture from the late 1800s and early 1900s, and "Workers' New Villages" (), public housing built by the Shanghai municipal government from the 1950s onwards. Sun's visit to a soon-to-be-demolished building inspired the cramped apartment shared by Gyun and his friends. Screenwriter Shen Cheng provided advice on the film's portrayal of wushu, having been a practitioner for twenty years, competed in tournaments, and written several wuxia novels. ==Music==

The soundtrack was composed by Luan Hui, then edited and mixed in Dolby Atmos by POW Studios in Wellington, New Zealand. The theme song, "Nameless Man" (), was again sung by Angela Zhang, reprising her role from the first film. Twenty-one year old rapper Cas14 composed the ending theme, titled "Youth Power" (), with lyrics inspired by Classical Chinese poetry. ==Release==

Theatrical The first footage of I Am What I Am 2 was shown at the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival on June 11, 2023. Production company Beijing Splendid Culture & Entertainment announced it would be part of "China's Teen Universe", a new series of films about China's youth, and set a release date for 2024. Streaming The film was released on Chinese streaming platforms, including Tencent Video and Youku, on June 1, 2025, coinciding with the Dragon Boat Festival. ==Reception==

I Am What I Am 2 earned CN¥57.54 million in its opening week and CN¥74.04 million in its first month. As production and marketing costs were estimated to be CN¥200 million and CN¥80 million respectively, higher than the first's, the film's release resulted in a loss of roughly CN¥200 million (US$27 million). ==Sequel==

There were plans for a third film, focusing on dragon boat racing, to finish the trilogy, but its future was uncertain after I Am What I Am 2 did poorly at the box office. Producer Cheng Haiming later stated in an interview in January 2025 that the film was still under consideration, depending on the amount of government funding and backing from investors; it was reported to be in the planning stages in June 2025. ==References==