Period C-drama The Reign of Northern Wei Kicks Off Filming Already with Controversy Between Fandom of Leads Yang Mi and Liu Xue Yi
Another day, another big budget C-drama starts off with fandom fights and controversy, nothing new to see here. Big budget serious period C-drama The Reign of Northern Wei just started filming with leads Yang Mi and Liu Xue Yi and already there are complaints. I can’t really call it a fandom fight as much as a one-way complaining from Yang Mi’s fandom. It started off with complaints that Liu Xue Yi isn’t a big enough name actor to be cast opposite her. Then when the script leaked her side went insane complaining that his role was beefed up to her detriment, as historical accounts of things she did was changed to either him doing it or them doing it together. And lastly came the grumblings about the cheap and unattractive looking costumes (see below for first look). Of the three issues, the script one seems the only legit concern but if it makes for a more balanced drama then so be it.
Fear not.Those fans better hope the makeup does not piss off the government as well generals looking like gorillas instead of super models. He is perfectly fine being as lead but she still has yet to impress me since Legend of Fuyao. They need to encourage her in getting into her role instead of all the whining and petty critiques of others. The costumes does seem to be another eras look. They can’t always look gorgeous.
For the script, this wouldn’t be the first time the ML’s role gets beefed up, but it could just be a few moments rather than a whole change of direction. LXY doesn’t have enough pull to beef up his role at the expense of Yang Mi. I think having LXY cast instead of a big name is so that the script can feature Yang Mi as the main lead.
If a big name actor gets cast opposite her, then that actor will ask for top billing or the fans will complain about all the attention he is getting or that he’s getting scriptwriters to beef up his parts.
Costumes…I mean the drama takes place in Northern Wei (a real dynasty) in the central plains region so I feel like the costumes make sense. This looks like outdoor military camp wear. They’re not wearing that in the palace.
LXY isn’t a big name actor? I guess that simply means he isn’t a traffic actor. He’s a serious actor, not just another vapid idol. Honestly, most male cdrama actors are interchangeable to me. He’s one of the few who stands out because he has acting chops and insane screen presence.They’re lucky to have him. As for the costuming, it is odd but how refreshing to not look like every other cdrama out there.
In fact, he is a competent and visually appealing actor (from a conventional point of view, since I know there are folks who don’t see beauty in the traditional). However, it seems silly to me that now that he hasn’t achieved stardom through idol dramas, he’s considered a serious actor, when in reality he never tried to establish himself outside the realm of traffic/data in C-Ent.
Isn’t LYX with Huanrai? Agency actors actually do not have much say in their career choices. He graduated from one of the drama schools, instead of the non-trained model / idol path, so he’s always been considered an actor.