Filmmaker gets going on epic franchise with old Chinese novel

Producer Bill Kong is among the three major figures behind the upcoming Fengshen trilogy.

"I have been thinking about how the Chinese can make such a masterpiece," says Wuershan.

He felt that Fengshen Yanyi－with more than 360 heavenly creatures in it－would be good option for a feature franchise.

Wuershan shot to fame after his directorial debut, Soap Opera (2004), which won international awards at festivals in South Korea and Switzerland.

His second feature, The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman, raised his ranking further as he won the best new director award at Taiwan's Golden Horse festival in 2001.

After Painted Skin: The Resurrection broke domestic box-office records in 2012, his image as a successful commercial director with a bold style was sealed. With Mojin: The Lost Legend, a tomb-raiding tale of special effects in 2015, some film critics started to call him the "new hope of Chinese blockbusters".

Wuershan says he decided to devote himself to mass entertainment a decade ago and has been preparing for the Fengshen trilogy over the past four years.