As we mentioned in our news on Sammo Hung's latest project, The Great Wall will have a strong international cast. Originally set to be directed by Glory helmer Edward Zwick, the fantasy epic will now be helmed by legendary Chinese Director Zhang Jimou (Hero, Raise the Red Lantern) in his English language directorial debut. The impressive cast is lead by Andy Lau, Matt Damon, Willem Dafoe, Eddie Peng (from Rise of the Legend) and Jing Tian (from Special ID). Of course, it's interesting to note that Damon played Lau's role in Martin Scorsese's The Departed, which was adapted from the Hong Kong classic Infernal Affairs.
According to Zhang, who has described the film to trade-paper Variety as both a 'fantasy epic' and an 'action blockbuster', the story is '...very important, and I have to do a lot of preparation for the various cultural elements in the film. Then comes the visual effects and action, which I like a lot. It’s very different from my last film.'
The film explores the mythos around the construction of The Great Wall, when medieval mercenaries enter China hoping to steal the secrets of gunpowder, only to find themselves forced to join forces with the Chinese militia to build the wall to protect China from mysterious creatures intent on destroying the forbidden kingdom.
Production is to begin in April with a global release date already inked in for late November 2016.
