Disney trailer features bustling Saigon

In the trailer, released Monday, young criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl II (played by Ferdia Shaw) and his butler strut the Saigon streets against a backdrop of motorbikes, Vietnamese store signs and Cho Lon Post Office roundabout in District 5.

The new Disney film, based on a popular series of sci-fi fantasy novels by Irish author Eoin Colfer, shows just how the 12-year-old Artemis Fowl began his thieving ways.

Following in the footsteps of his criminal father, Artemis Fowl II must spring into action after his wealthy dad is kidnapped and held for ransom. He is on a noble mission to rescue his father with the help of his loyal butler as they traverse the underground fairy world, igniting a new conflict between the real and the magical realms.

The adventure of Artemis Fowl II starts in Ho Chi Minh City, where he first discovers a fairy race and meets Nguyen (played by Jean Paul-Ly), an informant, while sitting outside a cafe on Dong Khoi Street.

"Artemis Fowl" had been subject to delays after the American film studio decided to make a live-action adaptation of the books in 2001. The studio had worked with Weinstein Company but halted the cooperation after Harvey Weinstein lurid life hit headlines in 2017.

Producers announced their plan to film the blockbuster in Vietnam in early 2018.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Miranda Raison, Colin Farrell, Judi Dench, etc., "Artemis Fowl" will hit theaters on May 29.