Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess attached to direct Shanghai Dawn

Shanghai Dawn, the next installment in the Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson-starring comedy series which began with Shanghai Noon all the way back in 2000, is moving forward at MGM. According to THR, Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess has signed up to direct the movie, with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson in negotiations to reprise their roles. Hess’ long-delayed comedy Masterminds releases at the end of this month in the US.

So is this a good move on the part of the studio? We’re not so sure – Hess came out of the gates strong with Napoleon Dynamite, but hasn’t really gone on to top that, despite working with some great actors (anyone remember Nacho Libre?). But the Shanghai movies being what they are, perhaps the director will be able to bring something fresh to this already rather silly series.