# I Am What I Am 2

I Am What I Am 2 (Chinese: 雄狮少年2; lit. 'Lion Boy 2') is a 2024 Chinese animated comedy-drama film directed by Sun Haipeng. It is the sequel to I Am What I Am (2021).
Following the events of the previous film, Gyun leaves his hometown in Guangdong in search of work to pay for his sick father's healthcare. While the first focused on lion dancing in a traditional rural setting, the sequel depicts martial arts culture in the modern city of Shanghai.
The film was released in China on December 14, 2024. It received positive reviews, but was a box-office bomb, earning less than a third of what the first film had grossed.

## Plot

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 a declining boxing gym to be its representative in the "Shanghai Fight Night" martial arts competition, where he must face competitors and techniques from around the world.

## Voice cast

* Li Xin as Gyun
* Chen Yexiong as Mao (lit. 'cat')
* Guo Hao as Gou (lit. 'dog')
* Cai Xinran as Xiaoyu (lit. 'little rain')
* 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 to take Gyun out of familiar territory and have him confront new challenges, 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". The Guangdong-based creative team visited Shanghai seven times through the seasons, photographing textures and details to accurately recreate its atmosphere. The team took visual cues from landmarks such as the City God Temple of Shanghai, the Ferris wheel at Jinjiang Action Park, and the traditional Shanghainese shikumen architecture of residential buildings. Sun's visit to a soon-to-be-demolished building inspired the cramped 5-square-metre (54 sq ft) apartment shared by Gyun and his friends.
According to Sun, the script development process was challenging, undergoing three major revisions over a six-month period. A key difficulty lay in illustrating the relationship between the characters Gyun and Xiaoyu, and depicting their motivations for their involvement in martial arts.

### Filming

Production started by the end of 2022, with the crew being allowed greater creative freedom compared to the first film.
Martial arts masters, including Zhang Peng, a shaolin specialist and national bajiquan champion, were hired as action choreographers, blocking scenes and providing motion capture for characters. The director additionally trained under Zhang for several months during production. 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.

## Release

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.
The film was shown at advance screenings across 18 cities on December 7, 2024, and received a wide release in China in regular, Dolby Cinema, and IMAX formats a week later on December 14, 2024.

## 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. It ultimately made CN¥81.22 million (US$11.32 million), less than a third of the first film's CN¥250 million gross.
As the combined production and marketing costs were estimated to be CN¥280 million, higher than the first's, the film's release resulted in a loss of roughly CN¥200 million (US$27 million).
In January 2025, the film was named one of the top ten Chinese films of the past year at the 31st Shanghai Film Critics Awards.

## 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. However, 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.