Well, it’s looking like the remake of the record-breaking Taiwanese drama The Prince Who Turns Into a Frog has finally wrapped. Production of the Chinese reboot has been hush hush with barely any hints (or confirmations!), just plenty of rumours about the new adaptation so Netizens have no choice but to resort to playing connect the dots when it comes to the remake of this firm fan favourite.
One of the most pressing concerns is of course, the leading cast. Who will play the beloved characters of Ye Tian Yu and Shan Jun Hao? For those that have watched the original, Joe Chen and Ming Dao were the perfect pair as they played their roles so naturally that it looked like the script was made for them. In fact, their performance and onscreen chemistry was a critical ingredient that made this series much-loved by fans.
Anyway, going back to that connect the dots game, number one contender for the role of Ye Tian Yu is actress Xing Fei who in one of her recent social media posts said that she’d just wrapped up “a drama” that’s taken 202 days of preparation and 111 days of filming. In addition, it was separately revealed that Joyce Chao who played Jun Hao’s fiancee in the original Taiwanese version will be appearing in the drama remake but this time as Chen Jin Zhi – Ye Tian Yu’s step mom! Oh my, time’s really flown since the original heh – from Jun Hao’s fiance in the original to stepmom in the remake! Where has time gone?
What’s interesting is that both actresses posted the same piece of paper in their posts captioned “It’s a wrap”. So by connecting the dots – same photo points to Xing Fei also being cast in the drama.
Moving on to leading men, there have been conflicting rumours thus making it quite hard to knuckle down who will be portraying Ming Dao’s role of Shan Junhao. In so far as rumours go, Kris Fan Shiqi and then later on Gao Taiyu were originally reported by various media outlets to play Jun Hao. But lately, model and rookie actor Garvey Jin Ze has also been thrown into the mix after he was spotted at the filming location. He also liked Xing Fei’s post that declared she’s just wrapped up a (unnamed) drama.
When the reboot of the series was announced, hardcore fans of the original series weren’t too happy about the news, saying that a remake was unnecessary. Indeed, remakes are a tricky thing to do as it can go both ways – fall flat on its arse when compared against the original or it could also be a runaway success. Often times though, it’s the former more than the latter. One thing’s for sure, whoever does get the main roles originally played by Joe Chen and Ming Dao has some huge shoes to fill and definitely an enormous weight on their shoulders. Aside from having to attract a new generation of more discerning audiences, they’ll also need to satisfy die hard fans who’ll surely be putting them in close scrutiny under the microscope!
Anonymous
Yes Xing Fei – i love her in PYHOMS. I would vote for Lin Yi as male lead. 🙂
Unknown
Linyi is the best leading role of Xing Fei.. hopefully they’re going back together again soon.. Thanka!
Anonymous
reboots and remakes tend to not do well, dont butcher my childhood pls i still listen to the OST of Princes who turns into frog even now