Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (French: Astérix et Obélix: l’Empire du Milieu) is a 2023 French live-action adventure family comedy film directed by Guillaume Canet, who also stars Asterix. It is the fifth installment in the Asterix live-action film series.
The film, which co-stars Gilles Lellouche as Obelix, sees the title heroes travel to Imperial China for the first time. The original story is based on a script by Philippe Mechelen and Julien Hervé. Canet also collaborated on the script. It is the first live-action Asterix film not based on any of the Asterix comic albums or starring Gérard Depardieu as Obelix.
Shooting was originally planned to take place in 2020 in China but was delayed for a year and relocated to France due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is budgeted at $72.4 million and is being co-produced by Pathé, Les Enfants Terribles, and Paris-based Tresor Films. It was released on 1 February 2023. It was released on Netflix in select regions on May 19, 2023
