Martial Universe 武动乾坤 has announced that it will be reconvening at Xiang Shan this September. I thought that it would be for a press junket of some sort, but it just dawned on me that the drama hasn’t even wrapped yet, which is highly unusual since dramas do not usually take a year to make (it began filming last November).
As reported on Sohu, Director Zhang Li talked about the delay in filming during an interview saying that Yang Yang had injured his ear, but still pushed through with filming until around June when the wound began festering really badly.
Prior to that, he had injuries all over (some of which were shared on the show’s official weibo page), yet Yang Yang always showed up for work. However, given the circumstance, it was best to let him have the surgery and recover from it. Zhang Li said that they didn’t immediately resume filming because even though Yang Yang doesn’t say anything, Zhang Li could sense some hesitation, after all, the remaining scenes were big fighting scenes, so it was better to just stop altogether to let him heal completely.
If I have ever seen a beleaguered production, this would be it as even before the drama started it was already having controversies over casting that supposedly forced Gina Jin out of the picture. Then, there were the personal attacks on Yang Yang accusing him of lying, being disrespectful, using body doubles unreasonably, etc, to the point that his management company Yuekai Entertainment issued a statement that they will hold those responsible accountable for their actions.
That said, Martial Universe seems to live up to its name sake being a show that requires a lot out of its cast, from doing the wirework and having the physical agility and stamina to execute the martial arts sequences. There’s a clip where the two leading ladies Crystal Zhang and Wang Li Kun are hard at work practicing their high kicks.
And another one where Wang Li Kun was down with a fever.
Wu Chun seems battle-ready as well, and he shared a picture of himself video chatting with his daughter to rejuvenate.
Filming is 85% complete, which means that there’s probably only less than a month of filming left to do which will bring the cast back to Xiang Shang and location shoots like Inner Mongolia.
Anonymous
I am amazed at this drama's filming schedule. Hopefully it would bring in huge ratings when it premieres, or it's not really worth it for Yang Yang. He had to reject Zhang Yimou's Shadow for this, and now it seems like his new drama The King's Avatar will be delayed when it was supposed to start filming this month.
But how would Zhang Tianai have time to film The Evolution of Our Love with Zhang Ruoyun? Is it only Yang Yang that has to film all the extra scenes?
Chloe
Its nice too see the production team consider yys health first. Obviously delaying for 2 months isnt ideal. Hope this drama does well
Anonymous
I am not watching this show. When I visited a hospital ward that performed knee surgery, my knee started to hurt (telekinetic effect) out of no where. When u watch a drama where lots of bad stuff happened to the actors, the vibrational energy rubs off on you. It's the same reason why ppl avoid someone with bad luck… And I sincerely hope they recast his role in The King's Avatar. YY doesn't suit the main role in TKA!
hohliu
I enjoy Gina Jin's performance…so I am disappointed it has changed. But the producers must have a reason with the chance. Will watch this space.