Eddie Peng to Star as Wong Fei Hung?
A brand new Wong Fei Hung film is officially in production. Titled Rise of the Legend <黃飛鴻之英雄有夢>, the new movie will helm the revival of the Wong Fei Hung franchise, which reached a popularity peak in director Tsui Hark’s (徐克) Once Upon a Time in China <黃飛鴻> film series in the 1990s. The new film will focus on action and comedy in hopes of appealing to the younger generation. Production of the movie began on August 20 in China, with location shoots planned in Shanghai and Wuzhen.
Rise of the Legend will be directed by Roy Chow (周顯揚), a Hong Kong director who won acclaim for 2009’s Murderer <殺人犯> and 2012’s Nightfall <大追捕>. William Kong (江志強), the talent responsible for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon <臥虎藏龍>, Hero <英雄>, and Fearless <霍元甲>, will produce the film. Sammo Hung (洪金寶) will star as the main antagonist of the movie. TV actor Wong Cho Lam (王祖藍) will portray Wong Fei Hung’s disciple and comic relief Buck Tooth So (牙擦蘇). Max Zhang (張晉), Boran Jing (井柏然), and Feng Jia Yi (馮嘉怡) will also star.
While the studio did not officially announce the actor who will play the titular character Wong Fei Hung in the new film, rumors claimed that Taiwanese actor Eddie Peng (彭于晏) has won the honor. A representative from the film company replied that the final casting decision for Wong Fei Hung has not been determined yet, but admitted that Eddie Peng is one of the contenders.
According to reports, Rise of the Legend will be set in Guangzhou during the late Qing dynasty. Wong Fei Hung and friends will use their wit and physical skills to break up a human trafficking operation headed by a powerful gang. To achieve realistic-looking action sequences, the studio hired action director and choreographer Corey Yuen (元奎), best known for his collaboration with action star Jet Li (李連杰). The cast also trained rigorously with Nanquan masters to perfect the southern fist fighting style.
Director Roy Chow shared that he had spent months researching the best possible cast. He hopes that the younger actors will bring a youthful spirit to the new adaptation. Roy Chow understood that the appeal of the classic Wong Fei Hung films was the real kung fu and will have the cast train extensively for their roles. Speaking about the series’ revival, the director said, “It has been twenty years since anyone attempted to put big hero Wong Fei Hung on the silver screen. This is the longest time that we’ve had to live without Wong Fei Hung in Chinese movie history. This year is therefore the best time to revive the series. We have prepared for this for a very long time, and I am completely confident about this project.”
Source: Oriental Daily; Chinanews.com; Sina.com.tw; Variety.com
This article is written by Katrine for JayneStars.com.
Are you ready for a new Wong Fei Hung film? I am if the actor cast is suitable for the role.
Ip Man done to death, Now back to Wong Fei Hung. When he is done to death, back to Ip Man. And it is a vicious cycle.
missed Huo Yuan Jia, new fearless?
Yes, can’t wait! Last couple years is all about IP MAN and i am not a fan.
Finger cross Eddie get the role. Cho lam will be good in the movie.
I can’t see Eddie as the new WFH.
eddie peng looks damn hot and sexy in UNbeatable with the oozing muscle…this guy really look hot…his future girlfriend will be lucky to get him
He will be my future bf =)))
looking forward for a good show
Wong Fei Hung with 0 Kung Fu skills, this will be a watered down version for kids/girls, that will all be humor and some love scenes.
Can’t see Eddie as WFH either. Does he actually know martial arts? Let’s hope Director and Producer put someone worthy and already martial arts trained because the scenes will be so much more realistic.
It’s confirmed.Eddie Peng will star as Wong Fei Hung and Angelababy will be in the movie too! More details to follow later tonight.
No please, enough details on this travesty already.
oh no..this two seems to be in every movie. Angelababy and Eddie Peng?.
Why cant chinese or hong kong actor play wong fei hung?Will give this a miss at the cinema because of these two .
What?? Angelababy will be in it too? Oh gosh, I am sick of seeing her everywhere. Her plastic face scares me. I like Eddie a lot but can’t really picture him as WFH. However, he can surprise us… Shi Xiao Long played the young WFH in the past and was really cute. Eddie may be able to pull it off.
when the face is so plastic, of course she can’t act cause the facial muscles are paralyzed.
poor WFH franchise, being butchered up like this.
Unnless they do something new and fresh , then it won’t be as good as the series with Jet Li/Zhao Wen Zhuo. – So why bother? Seems like a waste unless you can get the best possible cast in this age.
It sounds like the movie wouldn’t sell well being generic Kung Fu , so they attached WFH to it and expect it to sell.
Doesn’t sound promising, but I’ll give it a watch nonetheless since they don’t make many ancient movies these days and I like to support their efforts, good or bad :P.
I still think ancient heroes/stories are best served in tv series to get the full detailed story(despite budget restraints) compared to a high budget movie.
Yes, for Eddie Peng but urgh…Angelababy in another film?
Impish Eddie Peng seems a good casting match for the role of Wong Fei-hung.
cant believe they cast an actress that is only known for taking loads of conceited pictures of herself. you think she put any time to work on her acting? she’s all looks and nothing else. totally insipid and not suitable to act.
eddie peng is okay but he just doesnt give off a serious vibe in his work. his acting is not toned enough for this role. he’s known as the posterchild for pretty boy acts, i hope he can shed his overly playful style and inject some real emotion in there. these young actors haven’t experienced much real life serious hardships in life to be able to relate to their characters. they are selected based on idol status and thats about it. can’t expect too much from this.