Diliraba Dilmurat and Gong Jun’s Rumored Casting in “Legend of Anle” Sparks Disapproval
Following the success of their latest dramas, Dilraba Dilmurat (迪丽热巴) and Gong Jun (龚俊) are rumored to team up and lead Youku’s big-budget historical romance Legend of Anle <安乐传>. Official announcements have yet to be made, but is believed to be released soon as there are speculations the drama will begin filming in July.
Legend of Anle is an adaptation of novelist Xing Ling‘s (星零) Di Huang Shu <帝皇书>, which has been dubbed as a female version of Nirvana in Fire <琅琊榜>. It revolves around heroine Di Ziyuan, who seeks revenge after her entire family was falsely accused of treason and beheaded under the emperor’s edict 10 years ago. As the only survivor, she changes her name to Ren Anle and schemes her way into the palace. While she admires crown prince Han Ye’s empathy for the common people’s welfare and slowly develops feelings for him, she remains haunted by her past and is unable to put behind the enmity between the Di and Han families. Driven by his deep love for Di Ziyuan, Han Ye vows to resolve their differences at any cost….
While the premise of Legend of Anle holds promise, the key is whether the story can be successfully adapted by screenwriter Rao Jun (饶俊), whose other scripts besides 2015’s The Journey of Flower <花千骨>, did not perform well. Criticized for 2016’s adaptation of Love Lost in Times <醉玲珑> for changing the original story in a strange manner, Rao Jun’s subsequent works have been largely flops and his track record does not instill netizens’ confidence in Legend of Anle.
The drama will be directed by Gary Sing (成志超), whose representative work is the highly successful boys’ love (BL) historical Word of Honor <山河令>.
Aside from the production team, many feel there is already an oversaturation of cliche historical romances. Dilraba’s fans feel that Di Ziyuan’s characterization closely resembles Li Changge from The Long Ballad <长歌行>, and urges the actress to take on more diversified roles instead.
Gong Jun is the hottest actor to watch lately after causing big waves with his performance in Word of Honor, and his commercial value is steadily climbing. Pairing with Dilraba, an actress of significant social influence, may continue to boost Gong Jun’s exposure levels. However, fans do not feel that an idol historical romance is the right vehicle for the actor at this point in his career, and believe he should pick roles carefully to transform his image with a project that can show a different side of his acting skills.
Source: Sohu
This article is written by Minna for JayneStars.com.
Sounds like the many other revenge drama. Even with high budget and great actor, people are bound to get fatigue (just look at Rebel Princess). Hence, I’m already not interest.
Definitely this female character is too similar to The Long Ballad. It’s probably not good to keep on getting same character roles. This guy he seems attractive but I can never finish even 1 episode of any series he was in. haha lol…Sometimes even cute faces do not mean anything.
@wm2017 Gong Jun’s best acting is in “Word of Honor” so far. The characters in his previous dramas were quite two-dimensional, but he really shines in WOH with his layered performance. Most viewers noticed his dramatic improvement here. The series has enjoyable wuxia elements and good chemistry between the male leads. It’s my first BL series…didn’t know what to really expect before watching it, but now I look forward to “Immortality”.
@jayne
I agree and enjoyed his performance in Word of Honor. I saw many BL series and movies already and really loved that one. I thought it was a Xian Xia series at first. The BL series and movies are pretty enjoyable. I enjoyed the Untamed too so I highly recommend that one too.
@hetieshou I’ve only glimpsed snippets of “The Untamed” here and there–it seems to be a drama which requires full attention to appreciate instead of a casual viewing. I’m actually more interested to watch Xiao Zhan’s “Ace Troops” and Wang Yibo’s “Wind from Luoyang” and “Being a Hero” more.
@jayne
Yes, you have to really watch the Untamed in order to enjoy it. It is popular for a reason. I have not seen the ones you mentioned so maybe will give them a try.
@wm2017 I haven’t been able to sit through any of his drama too. He seems too ‘wooden’. I prefer watching Allen Ren than him.
@bizzybody Yup, that’s why it’s not really helpful even if they are cute if the story isn’t there or the acting. It’s hard to sit thru just for eye candy. Although to me he looks a bit girlish and not the manly kind that I find attractive anyway. lol haha
Gong Jun is fine to take this role if he just wants more work. A bad script won’t make or break him at this point. He can withstand the lesser ratings; he’s too popular to fail right now.
On the other hand, Dilraba needs to diversify her roles and characters. Being a revenge-driven woman doesn’t really suit her. She is better off in those lighthearted roles and not so serious ones.
Dilraba has huge fans following and also as many anti fans following. Thus there are always many disapproval towards who is paired with her…Regardless what drama she takes on…