Xiao Zhan and Ren Min’s “Jade Bone Ballad” Starts Filming

Xiao Zhan (肖战) and rising star actress Ren Min (任敏) were officially announced as the main leads for novel-based historical fantasy drama, Jade Bone Ballad <玉骨遥> yesterday. The news was immediately met with huge waves of excitement from fans, as Xiao Zhan is back with another historical project and this will be Ren Min’s first lead role in a historical drama. After the release of the official stills to mark the start of filming, there are high anticipations due to the leads’ top-notch visuals and capable acting skills.

Jade Bone Ballad is adapted from the novel Mirror: Zhu Yan <朱颜> written by Cang Yue (沧月). It is a prequel to Mirror: Twin Cities <镜·双城>, and the story is set in Kong Sang Continent. It follows the royal prince Shi Ying and the princess of the Chi Yi Tribe Zhu Yan starting out in a master-disciple relationship before evolving into a deeper love. Yet, they hide these forbidden feelings to themselves, as it is not only inappropriate because of their teacher and student status, but also because they stand on different political grounds. Such circumstances inevitably cause an angst-filled struggle, but they eventually find a way to overcome boundaries as they work together to safeguard the continent and their love.

While the original story is from the heroine’s perspective, script adjustments were made to focus more on Xiao Zhan’s role. According to sources, the relationship structure is fairly similar to Douluo’s Continent <斗罗大陆>, where the heroine will likely be quite dependent on the hero. Although the similarities may lack some freshness, it would still be interesting to find out the chemistry between Xiao Zhan and Ren Min.

Jade Bone Ballad has a strong budget, and is backed by an experienced production crew. The drama is directed by Hong Kong director Jeffery Chiang (蒋家骏), who has notably worked on The Myth <神话>, The Legend of the Condor Heroes 2017 <射雕英雄传>, Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre 2019 <倚天屠龙记>, and The Legend of Xiao Chuo <燕云台>. An early glimpse also reveals that Jade Bone Ballad has an excellent costume design team, as detailed care was taken even with supporting characters’ costumes.

Source: Sohu