L.O.R.D. Legend of Ravaging Dynasties (Movie)

It's unlikely to follow Ice Fantasy without catching wind of L.O.R.D. 爵迹, an upcoming CGI animated film starring an ensemble cast led by none other than the reigning queen of c-cinema, Fan Bing Bing (Empress of China). 

Both adaptations are the brainchild of Guo Jingming who authored the novels that have turned into classic fantasy literature. In an attempt to do justice to the story, Guo Jingming was heavily involved in the making of L.O.R.D. as writer and director.

Motion capture is a technique often seen in Hollywood, think Avatar, Gollum and the Hulk's man-cancelling suit as stated by Mark Ruffalo himself. L.O.R.D will be the first of its kind for the Chinese entertainment industry, generating much hype due to the magnitude of its ambition. 

However, it is undeniable that most of the buzz has to be from its extremely high-profile cast that include Fan Bing Bing, Kris Wu (EXO), Chen Xue Dong (Tiny Times), William Chan, Amber Kuo (Tiny Times), Lin Yun (The Mermaid), Kevin Yan Kuan, Roy Wang (TF Boys) as well as special appearances by Yang Mi and Aarif Rahman. Each and everyone of them will be acting via motion capture that it has become a test of wit to try and identify who is who.

L.O.R.D. is scheduled to hit theaters on Sept 30, 2016 in 3D.

Source: YXDown

Song of Phoenix (Si Mei Ren)

Song of Phoenix 思美人 is a Chinese period drama set in the Warring States period about the historical figure Qu Yuan. It will be told in a modernesque fashion focusing on the love story between Qu Yuan and Mo Chou Nu.

Filming began January 2016 so expect to wait 1 year? 2 years? Then again, Ma Ke who played Sha Qian Mo in Journey of Flower is still riding high from the drama's success so it's possible that Song of Phoenix can secure an earlier release date to hasten his return to ancient garb especially because he just carries it all too well.

Ma Ke 马可 (Journey of Flower) as Qu Yuan is a talented scholar born to a prominent family in Chu.

Zhang Xinyu 张馨予 (Romance of the Condor Heroes) as Mo Chou Nu is his equally capable muse. Coincidentally, Zhang Xinyu's character is named Mo Chou again, which is basically her character in ROCH. Unfortunately for anyone who likes a happy ending, a name like that usually insinuates a tragic romance.

Qiao Zhenyu 乔振宇 (Sword of Legends) as Chu Huai Wang, the emperor of Chu.

TF Boys Yi Yang Qian Xi 易烊千玺 (Legend of Chusen) will play the younger version of Qu Yuan.

Source: Duitang

Legend of Chusen

Based on a novel called Zhu Xian written by Xiao Ding, the Legend of Chusen 诛仙青云志 is a big-budget fantasy wuxia starring Li Yi Feng (Sword of Legends), Zanilia Zhao Li Ying (Legend of Zu), Yang Zi, TF Boys, etc. and it premieres on July 2016. 

All the excitement surrounding this drama is largely due to casting where names like Angelababy where thrown into the pot until it finally secured its leads in Li Yi Feng and Zanilia Zhao Li Ying, two of the most sought after stars of today. 

Period dramas is a genre that is getting a lot of love these days that even c-pop idol boyband TF Boys is appearing in the series, no doubt to cater to younger fans.

Legend of Chusen is about Zhang Xiao Fan, a young man with mediocre skills made up for by an abundance in determination to become a martial arts hero of the Qing Yun Sect. 

Li Yi Feng will once again play a character that has an alternate persona, Sword of Legends much? Frankly, Li Yi Feng's character looks and feels like a reboot of him as Bai Li Tu Su, which is not a bad thing considering the former's success but redundant nonetheless.

On the other hand, Zanilia Zhao Li Ying is getting a lot of flak for not fitting the bill as the character Bi Yao. It was unexpected given that she is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful faces in the Chinese entertainment industry but stills don't lie.

No wonder people are making comparisons to cosplayer Qiu Xiao Chen and some netizens even took it upon themselves to photoshop their own version of Zhao Li Ying as Bi Yao the way that it should be. At least the production team seems to be listening since the recent batch of promotional stills are certainly eye-catching.

For plot summary, synopsis, etc., check out my 2016 c-drama recommendations.

Source: Newyx, DuiTang, Douban