It's not Fan Bingbing's turn to play the role this time: a foreign company wants to make an English film about Wu Zetian

According to the latest news from foreign media, foreign production companies Metan Global Entertainment and ENTree Pictures will jointly produce an English film that will tell the story of China's Empress Wu Zetian, written by Ronald Bass, the screenwriter of "Rain Man" and winner of the Oscar for Original Screenplay.

It is reported that the film will use English dialogue, with a Chinese-American and Canadian cast, and top Chinese-born actors are expected to make cameo appearances. Pre-production is expected to begin in May 2019, and the producers are still looking for a director and actors.

The film is based on Evelyn McCune's novel "Empress Wu Zetian", which tells the story of how Wu Zetian overcame numerous obstacles, ascended the throne, and became the first and only female emperor in Chinese history.

The film "Wu Zetian" will be told from a Western perspective. Different from some traditional Chinese interpretations, Wu Zetian will be portrayed as a wise, modern woman who constantly breaks through herself and seeks fairness.

The huge success of Warner Bros.' Crazy Rich Asians this year made the West see the box office potential of Asian audiences, and similar works emerged.

It is worth mentioning that Ronald Bass was also the screenwriter of The Joy Luck Club in 1993, which is also a Hollywood movie about Asian stories and starring all Asians. In addition, he also wrote the co-production film Snow Flower Fan directed by Wang Ying, which shows that he has a deep understanding of Asian culture.

Wu Zetian's life was full of legends, and her story has been adapted into film and television dramas many times. The more well-known ones include the TV series "The Legend of Wu Mei Niang", in which Fan Bingbing played Wu Zetian; "The Secret History of Wu Zetian", in which Yin Tao, Liu Xiaoqing, and Siqin Gaowa played Wu Zetian's youth, middle age, and old age; "The Empress of China", in which Jia Jingwen played the young Wu Zetian; and "The Palace of Ming", in which Gui Yalei played Wu Zetian.

In the film series "Detective Dee", Carina Lau played Wu Zetian. In the 1963 Shaw Brothers film "Empress Wu Zetian", Wu Zetian was played by Li Lihua.

In addition, 10 years ago, when Xu Jinglei first became a director, she also wanted to make a movie about Wu Zetian, "Stories in the Palace", portraying Wu Zetian as the Chinese version of "The Godfather", and even had the ambition to compete for an Oscar. At that time, Wang Shuo had already written the script and successfully entered the film plan of the 2007 Hong Kong Asian Film Investment Conference, but it was later shelved.