“Nirvana in Fire 2” May Not Star Original Cast
Hou Hongliang (侯鴻亮), producer of last year’s hit Chinese television drama series Nirvana in Fire <琅琊榜>, revealed that he may not bring the original cast members back for the second installment of the show, which is currently in pre-production.
Nirvana in Fire, adapted from Hai Yan’s (海宴) popular novel of the same name, starred Hu Ge (胡歌) as a former captain of the fallen Chiyan Army who returns to the capital to exact vengeance on the royal court of Liang. He takes up the identity of Mei Changsu and becomes a strategist for the young Prince Jing (Wang Kai 王凱), supporting him to the throne.
Nirvana in Fire became an immediate commercial and critical success when it was released in late 2015, winning numerous accolades across the nation including a Flying Apsaras Award for Outstanding Television Drama, the highest honor for a television series in the country. With over 3.55 billion trending posts on Sina Weibo, Nirvana in Fire was an Internet phenomenon and considered a cultural achievement for Chinese entertainment.
As expected, the studios of Nirvana in Fire announced that they would work on a second installment for the series, with the original cast allegedly signing on to return. After hearing this news, Tamia Liu (劉濤), who starred as Princess Mu Nihuang in the original series, said she will make room in her schedule to fit Nirvana in Fire 2 at the end of the year, adding more excitement for the fans.
However, in a short interview with Hou Hongliang yesterday, the producer admitted that he may not bring back the original cast for the second series.
He said, “We are still working on the script. To be honest, I don’t want to purposely bring back the original cast. It really depends if they’re suitable for the roles. While the second installment will be related to the first, they are not completely linked. It is a new story after all. Right now, our priority is to get the script right.”
Meanwhile, Hu Ge said that he has heard that the studios were working on a second, but he did not receive a casting offer. Wang Kai expressed at an event that Nirvana in Fire 2 “shouldn’t be any of [his] business” as the series will be introducing new characters.
Nirvana in Fire first premiered on Mainland China’s Beijing TV and Dragon TV on September 19, 2015, airing two episodes a night. It was then syndicated to Sichuan TV on January 28, 2016.
South Korea, Taiwan, Canada, the United States, and Japan have aired the series. The show will make its debut in Hong Kong, dubbed in Cantonese, through TVB Jade on May 16, 2016.
Source: Sina, Liberty Times
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Didn’t Hu Ge’s character died? Didn’t the 1st series exhausted the story for these set of characters?
@funnlim Mei Changsu was hinted to be still alive in the cut ending scene.
The article did say that it focuses on new characters they will have relation with the first installment but are not necessarily linked. I would love to see what they are going to come up with. I really want to see hu ge and liu tao in this next life as different characters that would be so cool.
hoping NIF2 will be as compelling as the excellent NIF1 which many fans have rewatched multiple times.
I am happy with bringing back the old cast or using a new cast. As long as the acting and script is good, i am happy with anything. Anyway, part of the original NIF cast has been working together on other projects so it is not as if we wont see them again. “Ode To Joy” is coming out tomorrow night woth Tamia, Wang Kai and Jin Dong with an addition of Jiang Xin, Zu Feng and Yang Zi. And Hu Ge and Chen Long are filming that business thriller which seems to be iinteresting.