John Woo, shown June 9, 2009, is to create an Imax film about the Flying Tigers flight squadron. John Woo, shown June 9, 2009, is to create an Imax film about the Flying Tigers flight squadron. (Reuters)

Action film director John Woo plans to bring the story of the Second World War Flying Tigers squadron to the Imax screen, he announced on Monday.

The Flying Tigers were a volunteer group of U.S. army and navy fliers who trained a Chinese squadron to fly in 1941 and 1942 so they could fight the Japanese. The squadron first saw action after Pearl Harbour and was involved in fighting over Burma.

Hong Kong director Woo is working with Lion Rock Productions and China Film Group on the action epic, which has a budget of about $90 million US. It will be bilingual.

Filming is set to begin in spring 2011. No release date has yet been announced.

"It has always been a dream of mine to explore shooting with Imax cameras and to work in the Imax format, and the strong visual element of this film is incredibly well suited to the tastes of cinemagoers today," Woo said in a statement.

Flying Tigers will be the second film Imax Corp. has made for the Chinese market. Its earthquake disaster movie Aftershock, directed by Feng Xiaogang, has become the biggest Chinese-language film to date, taking in $78 million US at the box office.

Woo said he has not yet cast the lead role of Lt. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault, the U.S. army flier who helped create the squadron.