The final casting has shaken out for the upcoming wuxia C-drama Tales of the Dark River and it is slated to go into production with filming to start next month in mid-June. The female lead is now confirmed as Peng Xiao Ran, and the earlier discussed female lead Yang Yu Tong turns out to be the second female lead. The male lead remains Gong Jun and he’s top billed, and the second male lead is the seemingly everywhere all at once Chang Hua Sen. Peng Xiao Ran has been in a string of unimpressive dramas in recent years and just finished filming a C-drama with Allen Ren and may be hoping for a hit in her upcoming dramas but this one is totally up in the air on what the end production will be like.
I really like her! I feel like she hasn’t had any notable works since Goodbye My Princess (that drama scarred me). I really hope she catches a break.
Me too! She’s stunning and can act. I hope this is her big break too. I always wonder why she isn’t a bigger deal than she is.
My sympathies to PXR for the incoming flop but with GJ as the ML that is inevitable.
She is getting paid, not volunteering. No need for any sympathy. She is welcomed to decline if she does not like working with GJ. I bet this is the only offer she can get nowadays as FL, and not even as first billing. LOL. At her age, she is reaping her last !
@Leslie is it necessary to insult the actress like that because some rando online insulted GJ?
I really like Peng Xiao Ran, she has natural grace and elegance, such seem rare many actress. Liu Shishi is another with such grace and elegance..
Unfortunate Peng Xiao Ran clearly dont have strong investor behind her…thus she is still in a limbo…not rising but not dropping. It may also be due to her age…it take time and money to promote a actress to be top liuliangs thus it is good to start when they are young like Zhao Lusi etc, but I really hope she will have good scripts and continue to shine. In time she can still be a respected actress in the industry. That may suit her more.
I will look forward to this new drama.
It’s interesting she didn’t get many higher budgeted and higher profile dramas than many other bland lead actresses.
IMO, she’s not only beautiful but also can act.
I agree and wondered too.
Yang Yutong is still the female lead if you consider the male lead’s romantic interest to be the female lead. Peng Xiaoran’s character does not have any romantic scenes with Gong Jun but she is higher billed because she’s more well known.
HE or BE for PXR and GJ? will she have any scenes with second male lead?
PXR’s love interest will be the third male lead, Tang Lianyue. Although at the start her character likes Gong Jun. No idea about any of their individual endings but Mu Yumo (pxr char) and Tang Lianyue will have a sad ending. They will all have scenes together since it’s a group drama like Blood of Youth.
Well I don’t think any of the leads is strong actor but I hope peng xiaoran got good project this time
Such a waste for PXR’s acting talent to pair with GJ. LOL.
I read the novel and watched the animation for Dark Tales. Really hope the production team is as good as Blood of Youth since it had the same team. Author is the screen writer on this too.
Not a fan of GJ, but he might just work. He gives the nice gentle guy vibe. Our assassin here is more of a righteous warrior who is stuck in the killing business. He got friends on the good side.
This story is more strong on Brotherhood than Romance. His relationship with the other ML is the backbone of the story. The girls are just decorations in here lol. I actually find PXR more suitable to play the real female lead (GJ’s girl) because she gives that spunky vibe of the doctor. The girl they cast her as is spunky, too but in the pics posted it screams Doctor Girl to me as a novel reader/anime watcher.