Maggie Cheung Replaced by Jessica Hsuan in “The Queen of Castle”

Many fans were looking forward to Maggie Cheung’s (張可頤) long awaited return to TVB in The Queen of Castle <巨塔之后>. It would have been her first drama since leaving TVB 12 years ago. She had already read the script and was preparing for her role as a cardiologist. She also went out to play tennis with her friends who worked as doctors so she could learn more about their jobs.

However, Maggie has declined the drama and Jessica Hsuan (宣萱) would be replacing her. Netizens immediately flocked to social media to express their pity at the change in casting as they felt Maggie would have been a more refreshing choice than Jessica. There were already signs that the casting would fall through as Maggie had recently posted on social media, “I really want to act as a doctor who is able to help patients and allow the world to relax while laughing. Is it possible?” Producer Chung Cheng (鍾澍佳) had shared and commented on her post at the time but her post has since been deleted.

As The Queen of Castle is a collaboration between TVB with Chinese platforms, it is a big investment project and every detail is being scrutinized. The crew refused to start filming without 80 percent of the script complete and filming was delayed from April until June. The crew had originally planned to film a large wedding scene in Prague. The scene required a grand manor and castle but as filming would now be during the summer break, the place was fully booked and filming dates needed to be changed again. It is now delayed until September.

Maggie had to decline the drama as she had other work scheduled in advance. Due to existing contracts, she is unable to turn them down.  She said, “This drama has a lot of different filming locations. The crew’s preparation time and the start of filming dates didn’t work with my schedule and I can’t break my commitment towards my other work. In the end, my manager had no choice but to decline the drama. We definitely would not have made this decision if it weren’t for these reasons. I feel very helpless that I have disappointed everyone. Sometimes working together is up to fate. I understand everyone wants the best results. They have to film in Foshan and Europe so it’s hard to rush these things. It’s a pity because everyone tried their best to accommodate and find a solution. But no worries, there will be future opportunities.”

Regarding the cast change, Ruco looks forward to working with Jessica. “She is an actress whom I’ve wanted to work with since I entered the industry. She already left TVB when I started having more roles at the station. We bumped into each other on the street before and have greeted each other. I’m very excited and will cherish the opportunity to work together! She looks to be in great condition and our pairing should be fresh.”

The drama also stars Alice Chan (陳煒) and Moon Lau (劉佩玥). Kenneth Ma (馬國明) will have a guest role.

Source: [1]

This article is written by Kiki for JayneStars.com.