HK-star Stephen Chow has stopped acting for the last two decades but has become a successful and noted director with a string of hits under his belt. His Shaolin Soccer was one of the biggest box office Asian movies of all time and now will get a sequel or follow up with an all-female soccer cast. It’s a huge deal not just for being a follow up to SS but also excitement for Stephen coming back with a movie after 5 years. C-actor Wang Yibo was rumored to be lobbying hard for a role in the movie and has indeed been cast as the male lead, though the drama is female lead-centric. The female lead has not been announced and will be a new “Sing Girl”, the way Stephen picks total newbie or unknowns and rockets that rookie actress to stardom in one of his movies. Actual returned soccer player Zhao Lina has also been cast in the movie which is scheduled to start filming next month in August.
Wow, he got the role. He definitely was very focus on getting the role.
I don’t think this is confirmed though.
Oh… let’s wait for final listing..
Its not confirmed yet and all this noise already!
For all the commenters asking what WYB has been doing for the past 500 days and turning up with injuries on hands, I guess you have your answer now. He was filming a Discovery Documentary just released on Tencent and breaking records. He worked in different habitats for survival with experts who actually became his fan seeing his grit. Its called Exploring the Unknown with Wang Yibo … https://youtu.be/Ud6H2Tnsjhw?si=guffF0XFUk-ysBuM
LOL the director acted like this was an open international casting and he would cast anyone with that worldwide Instagram post but in the end he only chose high traffic famous Chinese actress
I prefer his Kungfu Hustle to SS. I wish he’d remake that.
ITA
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I loved Shaolin Soccer. How likely will Vicky Zhao make a cameo? Her role was so epic in it! lol
I think his older movies where he starred in them were probably my favorites. I loved Hail the Judge, especially the scenes where he rattled off a bunch of very clever insults. His Journey to the West with Athena Chu was also a classic.
I love too many… 🥰
one of cdrama tweets (@dramapotatoe) admin got exposed as Wang Yibo die-hard fan (MTJJ) in now deleted cc replies about the reason why Wang Yibo is not joining any project for almost 500days. The cc replies of the MTJJ admin of cdrama tweets contains fandom only information like and about the unofficial information of WYB movie ‘Mermaid’ rapped-up filming that was posted on Wechat Moments (similar with IG Stories). WYB not joining any projects for more than a year is a sour spot for his fans and the cdrama admin got really pressed from the many cc asking about WYB next project. It was rumored that WYB cannot join any new project because he is obligated to sign a risk agreement as he is considered as ‘high-risk’ artist. For this project with Stephen Chow, it was rumored that WYB offered investments to the project and zero salary.
*wrapped up
I am not a wyb fan, but I think he can afford to take a break since he had already had a backlog of works to be released. His drama and movie was released this year too. And if the shooting this movie completes this year it may release next year.
About the mermaid movie, I know it sounds less believable since there are no reuters, and nothing is known about the movie, but even if it is WeChat moments, I don’t see why a producer would lie. Maybe they are just very secretive about the shooting.
The 0 salary part doesn’t sound possible to me, well it is just a rumour.
500 days without working is not a break.
It is a major problem.
Which is why he is accepting even this drama where the “male lead” is only nominal. This is a major female centric movie.
And yes, no salary is possible because nobody else will give him work and he has failed multiple auditions. It’s why the YH CEO went to HK repeatedly. She also promised investment in this movie, all to get him at least one job.
And ah yes,the famous Mermaid. Bona is saying it is still in pre-preparation but you all know better lol
@Hahaha , you are right about the bona report, just checked it out, and indeed the report dated last month, June 14 does say it is in preparation. In that case, it is really wierd that a producer straight up lied about the movie wrapping up shooting. Or maybe that is a false rumour? C-ent is so weird lol.
@Panda
It was posted in WeChat moments, very easy to walk back as nothing serious. But Bona issued two reports, the second the June one, and in both the movie is marked as not started yet.
As for why this would happen, well WYB fans are in an extremely unstable state right now. I agree a break is not an issue but this isn’t a break for him. He really couldn’t find anyone to accept him. It wasn’t a big deal at first but as more and more time passed, his fans got hyper focused on Mermaid because it gave them something to hold on to. When the first Bona report came out, they claimed Bona has two movies named Mermaid (no, they don’t) and stabilised them that way but when this one came out and it showed there is only this Mermaid and the director is indeed Cheng Er, they went crazy.
All that plus coupled with Bona saying No Name was a financial loss for them (another thing WYB fans are trying to deny) it really destabilised the fandom.
If this casting is true, he would absolutely take the no salary/a promise of YH money investment and a smaller role because he is desperate. Especially as remember his fans first made a huge stink with attacking WY and then the other day, WKW of all people. Taking him on is a huge risk but a promise of YH money maybe overrides that if they are having issues with finances.
Even in korea, 500 days is a problem, it’s like he went to enlist in military. With china entertainment tradition of actors taking multiple drama a year, this is definitely strange behavior. Chinese dramaland is justthat competitive
@Ehhhh
Oh well I would go crazy too if my fav had no work for that long. 500 days is like military enlistment. But to deny that a movie flopped? Is that even something that can be denied? You can just look up the break-even point to see whether it profited or not.
@Yuhyi
It can be denied if people in the fandom lack education. The paid fans in his fandom are conducting control by muddying the waters with gross and net income. They are throwing around the numbers before the expenses for marketing etc are deducted. And those expenses were huge. This of course falls on Bona itself that thought they could recoup but it turns out it wasn’t a good investment and it all went bust.
Today’s economy in China is pretty shaky so actually it’s not that weird that WYB isn’t getting many offers. Other senior actors usually carry his projects and he actually doesn’t earn money for producers so when money is tight, it stands to reason production companies will turn to proven money makers and avoid potentially risky situations (his fans in this case).
What do you mean by high-risk?
Logically thinking here, I mean he is a traffic star, that means the fans will watch, so some level of success is guaranteed. Also he is still better than Linghe or LinYi who have mass production movies/drama lined up. The other day there was rumor that they are trying to get him in movie version of Reset. Other news was that he said yes to WoF in morning and the money came in the afternoon. So its surprising that with all the backing and connections he cannot land a drama!!! the only conclusion after removing all other variables,is it’s his choice. He is not picking things randomly and like ALWAYS, he doesn’t talk.
The sour looser barking here.. Wang Yibo will always be more Rich, more famous, booked and busy than your hag!! Cry harder
In other news, he’s been unemployed for 500 days and now playing second lead in a female eccentric film. 😆
Prati? Are you that mentally ill Wang Yibo fan from Twitter with about a dozen other fake accounts?
Girl. Forget about WYB. You don’t know him. Put your phone down. Go seek professional help because what you write on a daily basis is not normal. This is not healthy. Find yourself some help and better your own, real life. It will make your life so much better.
No hate to Wang yibo but I feel he is on th e good side of CCP with the way his career is flourishing 😬 I mean we can all agree that his acting is not that good .
How is his career flourishing? He hasn’t worked in like 500 days.
Yeah Xiao Xhan is just Eh! Just hag eh!
I have heard that he is focusing on projects with international appeal hence Stephen Chow type directors
I loved Shaolin Soccer and still rewatch it here and there. Can’t wait to see how this one turns out.
Never seen anything of WYB but definitely planning to check out anything by SC.
What I am surprised is how come none of his movies have crossed 1billion mark. Born to fly I heard was taken down by the Govt due to some aircraft misinformation, Hidden blade is niche but One and Only is strictly popcorn movie, how come no one went to see it?
This is a question to people not vehemently hating Wang Yibo:
I have watched him in two dramas, the latter being Word of Faith, and he’s not half bad. So, what would you consider is the reason for him not getting any work, if this is actually accurate? Could it be the toxic fandom? His agency? Or his attitude?
In the “500 days without work” the haters are referring to, he filmed a movie, a documentary, a variety show, and was a guest on two other shows. He released an EP and did multiple concert/singing appearances. He’s also the brand rep for a dozen major brands and appears in endless ad campaigns everywhere in China and has been doing fashion events internationally.
The criticism is that he hasn’t filmed a drama as a traffic star, but he’s been working very hard to have a post traffic star career and get into film. So I think you can take anything the obvious haters say with a grain of salt.
Thanks dear. I don’t speak Chinese so I cannot fact check everything anyone is claiming (by the way, that drama I wrote above was War of faith, not word 😁)
He has not filmed a movie, he has not had any acting work in 500 days.
The movie is Mermaid and you have been trying to say that it has been filmed even though there is no evidence whatsoever about it.
Lastly, Bona has a financial report just a month ago in June where this movie is clearly marked as in preparation, director Cheng Yi. And you are still going around claiming it is finished. Stop. It’s embarrassing.
@Nensa
Lmfao you cannot fact check but you automatically believe a rabid WYB fan.
No, WYB has not filmed anything for 500 days. Cope.
People please makeup your mind…
Koala is saying it is a coveted role and you are saying nominal role..
You say he is a traffic star with backing and connections, and then he cannot land a lousy drama that is dime a dozen in c-ent.
Your comment posting name says TFBoysrock and Ehhh and Offf and know that someone has multiple accounts on Insta and you are not an Anti Fan or paid commentor!!!
Honestly tiring going thru all this…
Here is hag Xiao Zhan fan being sour loosers again.. cry cry harder 😀. Wang Yibo will always be more busy, rich and booked than your fav!! Continue counting the days .. because that your life.. revolving around Wang Yibo 😂😂😂
Are you unwell? Once you start hallucinating it’s probably best to ask for help.
@Prati … you check all the bullets for black fan on the net.. wrong spellings and puntuations.. aggravating others in name of defending someone.. getting other star names involved to star fandom wars.. Please move from here..
Wow!!The news is not even a fact abd so many comments 🤣🤣 poor actors can’t even take a break.. kim soo hyun didn’t release anything for almost three years, LeeMinHo had nothing post Pachinko, Hyun Bin is sitting on Harbin for past few years and no one is worried even when they are all hallayu stars.. C-ent is so funny