Is this the year of wuxia drama remakes? There’s Hu Yitian’s Handsome Siblings, Zeng Shunxi’s Heavenly Sword Dragon Slaying Sabre, Tong Mengshi’s The Return of the Condor Heroes and now a new version of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils 天龙八部.

Jin Yong’s wuxia epic is set in the Northern Song dynasty, and focuses on the stories of three sworn brothers. Qiao Feng (Tony Yang) is the leader of the Beggar’s Sect who is later revealed to be a Khitan and becomes an outcast of the pugilist world (wulin). Duan Yu (Bai Shu) is the young prince of the Dali Kingdom who manages to capture the hearts of several maidens during his adventures while Xuzhu (Zhang Tianyang) is a Shaolin monk who ends up becoming the leader of a martial arts sect and the prince consort of Western Xia.

Janice Man (Tribes and Empires) plays Wang Yuyan, the fairy-like maiden whom Duan Yu is obsessed with. Su Qing (Story of Yanxi Palace) plays Qiao Feng’s love interest Ah-zhu, while He Hongshan (Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace) plays her sister Ah-zi.

The New Classics Media (Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace) production is directed by Yu Rongguang (Battle Through the Heavens), and began filming in late September.