Yu Zheng‘s The Swordsman, a complete massacre of the classic wuxia novel Smiling Proud Wanderer, is so so SO bad I cannot even write about it. Talking about that atrocity is like pouring boiling water over a fresh burn. Much as I would like him to retire from producing dramas immediately, the man isn’t going anywhere and he has in his hands the rights to Tong Hua‘s novel Yun Zhong Ge. I have to keep the faith because I really love that book so much and need to see it onscreen. Of course, if I were lucid I would ask myself whether my need to see it as a drama outweighs the pain of watching it be butchered into a drama that has no resemblance to the book. Yu Zheng has claimed that it would remain true to the book, contrary to his early claim that it was going to be set in the wuxia world to avoid SARFT censorship. The man may be a turd of the first order but he does keep a promise – two weeks ago he said that if The Swordsman broke 3 in ratings he would reveal the confirmed cast of YZG. The drama broke 3 in ratings this weekend and Yu Zheng dropped the first confirmed cast members as promised. The gorgeous Chen Xiao is indeed going to be Liu Fu Ling (Emperor Zhao of Han), while his Swordsman OTP of Yang Rong will be playing Xu Ping Jun. Veteran actor Ko Zheng Hai (he’s in half the C-dramas out there) will be the powerful and calculating Huo Guang, while teenage young acting talent Zhang Xue Ying will be Shang Guan Xiao Mei. This leaves Liu Bing Yi (Liu Xun), Liu He, Hong Yi, and Huo Cheng Jun yet uncast. There are numerous news reports that pretty much confirm for me that the other two main leads have been cast but Yu Zheng is withholding the information to drag out the interest. Contrary to early rumors that Zhao Li Ying will be the titular Yun Ge, HK actress and model Angelababy (Chinese name Yang Ying) will make her first drama debut as the playful and optimistic desert bloom. This…..will be interesting. Meng Jue, who really is the male lead of this story, will go to veteran actor Du Chun. He is not how I pictured Meng Jue. At all.
Chen Xiao as Liu Fu Ling, Emperor Zhao of the Han dynasty. Youngest son of Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty, This casting has been perfect in my eyes since I first heard about it. Right age, right looks, right aura. Right everything.
Yang Rong as Xu Ping Jun. I have to reserve judgment until I see who is cast as her husband Liu Bing Yi (aka Liu Xun). But my first impression is positive. She’s perky and fiesty enough for this hard scrabble character.
Veteran actor Ko Zheng Hai as Huo Guang. Brilliant. He will make this role a masterpiece performance.
Teen actress Zhang Xue Ying as Shang Guan Xiao Mei. Again a perfect cast in terms of age and demeanor. She’s a very promising young talent.
The word everywhere is that Du Chun has been cast as Meng Jue but is just waiting to finalize the contract and sign on the bottom. My first impression is that he’s just too old compared to the rest of the cast. Meng Jue isn’t even the oldest male lead in the cast. The ages of the character goes from Liu He (24), Liu Fu Ling (21), Liu Xun (20), Meng Jue (19), Xu Ping Jun (18), Yun Ge (17), Huo Cheng Jun (16), and Shang Guan Xiao Mei (13). How the heck does Yu Zheng cast as Meng Jue someone so much older than everyone else? And he looks older as well. Sigh, I hope they style him well because Meng Jue is supposed to be drop-dead gorgeous. Not as pretty as Liu He, grandson to the famed Consort Li, but still very very good looking.
I don’t know any of this actors/actresses but I hope he recasts Ming June, he looks to old for the role and will be giving off creeper vibes. Maybe that is was YZ is going for.
Darm autocorrect, I meant Meng Jue *headesk*
Gah Angelababy can’t act LOLOL!
I agree. But I surprisingly enjoyed and liked her movie with Mark Chao (The First Time?).
And I really dont get her popularity.
isnt she famous for having ps? kk
Chen Xiao is so yummyy! lol
Meng Jue needs to be recast. Why would she even mistake him as the Emperor? He looks decades older for goodness sakes.
Hooya. I’m not sure… Didn’t Yumama also say that Swordsman is going to be faithful to the original text? *skeptical*
I can live with most of the cast except Du Chun and Angelababy. And even Du Chun, well… i can live with him as Meng Jue as long as they DO NOT cast Angelababy. I don’t have any faith that she can act and if you get a crappy miscasted Yun Ge, you might as well not make the movie at all.
I hope Zhao Liying will get the part since I actually like most of her performances so far. I’m also pretty ok with Yang Rong – I actually quite like her earlier bits in Swordsman before YLS decided to hook up with LPZ. Zhang Xue Ying was also quite good in ILWP (although I can’t say I would recommend the drama) although I thought Dong Hui looked more like Shang Guan Xiao Mei.
Thanks for the heads up Ms K!
I also love Yun Zhong Ge and it’s one of my fav Tong Hua books.
I’ve re-read the story many times esp the less “nue” parts.
Although it remains moot whether Yu Zheng will really deliver as promised in terms of adhering to the original tale since his choice for Yun Ge and Meng Jue seems alittle off tangent here.
Still I’ll keep my fingers crossed that he’s just drumming up some attention for the production and look out for the final confirmation when filming commences.
Hahaha…swordsman is indeed really bad, so bad that I still need to continue watching to see the disastrous ending….
But back to topic, seriously, angelababy?! That is such a miscast, she is anything but innocent yun ge. And she can’t even act. I guess yz just wanted some pretty face with a name, I mean it would be her debut in drama, he is just after the ratings. I hate the man guts since following xajh. and du chun, i agree, he is just too old and well he ain’t handsome. Well at least not in terms of meng jue-handsome.
Wow… I am torn between laughter and plain horror. Anyone who takes on the professional name of Angelababy cannot expect to be taken seriously. I want to know who she is sleeping with (besides HXM) so I can do the same and get my bfs cast properly.
As long as they change the end of the drama from what it was on the book …then I’m in. Maybe a ”Da mo yao” sort of ending !!!
This will no doubt be a horror. While I can’t say I am a fan of this story, but I can appreciate the story. I have to say MJ was my favorite. YZ seems to enjoy destroying all masterpiece. I am dreading his version of ROCH.
I don’t know any of the names, but Ithought the casting is quite sound from the photo-intros. Yun Ge may be the titular heroine, but she is just a catalyst so even if they get someone who can’t act clueless (can’t imagine how anyone can ruin clueless), the story can still fly if Liu Fuling/Yun Ge pairing looks pretty on screen. The actor for Mengjue looks old but if he can nail his complicated character – the coldness, pain, devastation – who is the true soul of the show, it may not be a bad thing.
Angelababy can’t act and the actor for Meng Jue looks too old and not handsome!
please do not let it be angelababy.. i watched that series cuo dian yuan yang and she’s naturally cute and charming… which is very hard to do even when the actress is cute (in my personal opinion)..