Update: Legendary and Universal has followed up on those images by unveiling the very first trailer for The Great Wall, which is packed to the rafters with monsters and eye-popping action set pieces. February 17 can’t come soon enough.
Original Story: It’s the most expensive Chinese feature film in history and it pits Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones) and Jason Bourne himself, Matt Damon, against legions of monsters. And now, casting light on that exciting concept, Entertainment Weekly has today premiered our first look at The Great Wall, Zhang Yimou’s immense blockbuster that is gunning to blend Chinese and western filmmaking into one grand, must-see event film.
Bringing together the acting prowess of Damon, Pascal and Willem Dafoe with big-name Chinese actors such as Andy Lau, Luhan, and Jing Tian, The Great Wall has all the makings to be an international affair, and the images below tee up action sequences that wouldn’t look out of place in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.
When quizzed about the creative process behind the marquee title – Le Vision Pictures and China Film Group Corporation partnered with Universal – Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers, Hero) told EW that this is a Hollywood blockbuster first and foremost – one that is certainly steeped in China’s rich history. Toss in fantasy elements and monsters and you begin to get a sense of Yimou’s labor of love.
First and foremost, this is an English-language film, and a Hollywood blockbuster. It was already very clear in the script phase. This is a Hollywood monster movie and needs to be made in that style. I don’t want to change that approach, and there’s no need to do that. What I really want is to bring Chinese color and cultural background to the worldwide audience through a film language that they are familiar with.
The Great Wall is scheduled to make its bow in China first come December. Universal will then bring the feature onto these shores on February 17, 2017.
