Fearless

Fearless 霍元甲 is a 40-episode web drama featuring the life of renowned martial artist, Huo Yuanjia, who brought glory to his nation. It stars Vincent Zhao once again as Huo Yuanjia. It's a character he has played several times before, his first being the 2001 Huo Yuanjia drama series.

Other casts include Nikita Mao Linlin, Wu Chao, Heizi, Yang Zhigang, Sui Mingyang, Eddy Ko Hung, Hasi Gaowa, Tay Ping Hui, Wang Zhiyi. The five students of the famous martial arts federation known as Jing Wu Men are played by Jia Hongwei, Xu Zhengguo, Kou Chia-jui, Zhou Bin and Zhou Yu Jing Hao.  Zhang Chunzhong and Ashton Chen who made a career in the martial arts genre round up the cast. 

Vincent Zhao

Synopsis from chinesedrama.info:

After the Hundred Days' Reform failed to achieve its purpose, the 'Six Gentlemen' who spearheaded reform were executed. Huo Yuanjia (Vincent Zhao) is a hot-blooded patriot who aspires to do good for his country. His efforts are always met with resistance, and he could only watch helplessly as people became martyrs for their beliefs. Shortly afterwards, the Eight-Nation Alliance launched an attack on China. Wang Wu dies trying to defend against the invaders. Upon hearing news of his death, Huo Yuanjia has gone to collect his remains without knowing that his action would bring great harm to the Huo Family. 

One year later, Huo Yuanjia goes out of hiding to become a bodyguard. He falls into a trap laid out by his enemies once again and barely survives the ordeal. Dejected, he decides to go to Shanghai and forms the Jing Wu Men. His success becomes a threat in the eyes of the Japanese and they engage in a battle of wits and will.

Nikita Mao

I've only seen the 2006 movie version of the same and did a little bit of background research on the character after. Apparently, the movie loosely based on the martial artist's life has angered his descendants, earning Jet Li a lawsuit for missing some important figures and for the way Huo Yuanjia was portrayed. It leads back to the question of the significance of historical accuracy in these kind of adaptations. 

Regardless, with a cast like this, expectations are surely high for this new drama to bring an impressive display of traditional martial arts choreography. 

Release date: TBA iQiYi

Vote for your favorite Chinese series in 2018. 

Wu Chao

Hei Zi

Yang Zhigang

Sui Mingyang

Eddy Ko Hung

Hasi Gaowa

Tay Ping Hui

Wang Zhiyi

Jia Hongwei

Xu Zhengguo

Kou Chia-jui

Zhou Bin

Zhou Yu Jing Hao

Zhang Chunzhong

Ashton Chen

Source: 1

Disney's Mulan Cast and Crew In High Spirits After Wrapping Filming

Let's get down to business to defeat the Huns, dun dun dun... 

In spite of the directional changes from the animated movie, I'm still looking forward to Disney's live-action remake of Mulan 花木兰 starring Crystal Liu which officially wrapped after months of filming. The remake is said to have a staggering budget of $290 million which makes it one of the most expensive movies to be led by a female director, Niko Caro. 

Although the cast and crew already had a wrap party to celebrate, it's not clear whether more filming will be done because it was initially reported that landscapes from China will be featured. Nevertheless, this production has one of the most epic ensembles. 

Action legends Donnie Yen and Jet Li have known each other for nearly 40 years, and they work together for the fourth time. Jet Li once shared in an interview that he hadn't planned to join Mulan. The main reason he decided to take the role was because of his daughter. 

Donnie Yen is excited about working for the first time with Gong Li.

New Zealand native Yoson An and American actor and musician Jimmy Wong took to social media to express their sentiments. Jimmy Wong even added that he can't wait to see the movie for the first time himself. As a fan of Disney, I too, am very excited to see it on the big screen, but we're all gonna have to be a little bit more patient since it will still be over a year before the movie is set to release in March 2020. Maybe I'll just watch Lion King live-action remake in the meantime.

More pictures of the cast which also include veteran actress Cheng Pei-pei.

Source: 1, 2