Rodriguez’s El Rey buys Kung Fu content from Celestial

EL Rey, the new US cable net launched by movie producer Robert Rodriguez, has acquired a raft of martial arts titles from Celestial Pictures.

The fledgling cable channel has already sealed deals for Mexican wrestling and will also have From Dusk Til Dawn, a full-length series based on the Rodriguez movie.

The Celestial deal gives it martial arts movies from the Shaw Brothers library. Titles include The 36th Chamber, The Sword of Swords and Executioners from Shaolin. El Rey targets Latinos and millenials with English-language fare and the movies will be dubbed in English.

Robert Rodriguez said: “Long before El Rey Network was born, I had many of the Shaw Brothers films on my playlist at home. We are thrilled to partner with Celestial Pictures on this collection as it is a perfect addition to our existing line-up of renegade programming.”