New Xiaolongnü announced for Yu Zheng's adaptation of Return of the Condor Heroes

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If anyone is following the Chinese TV entertainment on weibo, it's quite an uproar right now. Endless speculation has surfaced in the past few months about who will be chosen for the coveted role of Xiaolongnü in Yu Zheng's latest adaptation of Louis Cha's classic story Return of the Condor Heroes. Rumors went from Angelababy to Zhao Liying. Well...the dust has finally settled yesterday and mystery has been revealed to be Taiwanese actress, Michelle Chen. Her most famous work to date is the movie titled You are the Apple of My Eye, successfully playing the dream girl of every young boy.

According to Yu Zheng, the shown costume and styling are only for the audition purposes and not the actual costume/styling of the drama series. Either way, I pray the stylist will work some magic on Michelle Chen like what the stylist did to Chen Xiao in Legend of Lu Zhen. She seriously needs some good talent to make her look and feel like Xiaolongnü. Otherwise, this current state makes Michelle Chen rather matronly and plain.
I think Michelle Chen is cute and pretty in modern clothes, but she definitely does not have the "feel" and weight of an ancient character. But I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt before I cast further judgement. Hopefully, the artistic direction of this series can compensate for Yu Zheng's flawed scriptwriting and Chen Xiao's strong screen presence can bring out Michelle Chen's lackluster potential as Xiaolongnü. On a more positive note, I am actually looking forward to see Chen Xiao's interpretation of Yang Guo. Since Chen Xiao has improved substantially in The Swordman as Lin Pingzhi from his previous role as Gao Zhan, I wonder if he can surprise us again with his improvement? Will he be able to exceed Louis Koo's success?

P.S. I heard Zhao Liying will have guest-starring role in the new Return of the Condor Heroes. Anyone wants to make a guess? Answer is.... Mu Nianchi, mother of Yang Guo. In essence, Zhao Liying will play Chen Xiao's mother in the story. LOL. 

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