Black & White 2: The Next Episode – Mark Chao teams up with Lin Geng Xin instead

I have a lot of respect for Taiwanese director Tsai Yueh-Hsun (蔡岳勳). His previous works include Meteor Garden, MARS, The Hospital and Black & White. Although I’ve only seen the last two they were both extremely well made and definitely recommended. With the success of the Black & White movie prequel (The Dawn of Assault) last year, he’s back again with Black & White 2: The Next Episode which started filming in early September.

 

Of course the question on everyone’s mind is – Is Vic Chou coming back? Sadly, the answer is NO. I’m sorry how can we make ANOTHER “Pi Zi Ying Xiong” movie without Pi Zi? I don’t know. I am annoyed. That’s probably the reason why I still haven’t seen the first Black & White movie.

 

FYI – in the original Black & White drama the Chinese name is Pi Zi Ying Xiong (痞子英雄), with Vic Chou as “Pi Zi” (aka ruffian, the unreliable one) and Mark Cho played Wu Ying Xiong (aka Hero, the principled, by the book one).

I’ve been trying to find news of this movie since it started filming but not a lot has been revealed so far? A few things I can find are:

 

Yes Mark Chao will return as Wu Ying Xiong obviously. Huang Bo, the lead from the last movie will only cameo in Black & White 2. His character Xu Da Fu will bring trouble for Ying Xiong at the beginning of the movie. Instead Lin Geng Xin who is now Mark Chao’s new BFF (since working together on the Young Detective Dee movie) will take the lead/second lead as Chen Zhen. He will play a criminologist who relies on scientific facts and evidence to solve crimes. A young Sherlock Holmes type character – very smart but doesn’t work well with others. The director describes him as “an idiotic genius”.

 

For the supporting characters, Angelababy (from the movie) and Ivy Chen (from the TV drama) will not return but Janine Chang will! Another alumni making an appearance is Xiu Jie Kai! This is about the most exciting part of this movie because I really loved their characters in the original drama. Considering there were some unanswered questions about Lan Xi Ying (Janine’s character)’s past at the end of B&W I think it’s about time we resolve it. Similarly, Xiu Jie Kai’s Xiao Ma / Huang Shi Kai was one of the most interesting characters in the drama, so his return is very welcomed. Other returning actors will include Terri Kwan from the last movie and Jason Tsou who played the assassin Cheng Nuo in both the TV and movie versions. But the most surprisingly piece of news was that Mandy Lieu is also in this movie?

 

(There is also a rumour Jerry Yan might have a supporting role, since he has previously worked with Director Tsai in The Hospital. But I’m not sure how much truth there is to that.)

So the question is yes it’s a Black & White 2 but where does this sequel sit in the series? Is it between the first movie and the drama? Or will this be an actual sequel to the drama? If anyone knows, TELL ME! When they originally announced the first movie will be without Vic people were hoping that the next one in the series (aka a sequel to the TV drama) will *have* to include him right? So disappointing. Maybe Vic has closed the “Black & White” chapter of his life whether it’s sequels, prequels, spin offs or whatever. As much as I respect Director Tsai, I think it’s time to let Black & White go. I might watch B&W 2 for Janine and Xiu Jie Kai but it would be good to see the Director make another ground breaking show on another topic.

 

Black & White 2: The Next Episode is filming in various locations in Taiwan right now, including Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan and Taipei. Its expected release date is Summer 2014. Its Facebook page has photos and updates on the production progress.

 

 

New sources: ChinaYes.com, Wenweipo, Oriental Daily
Photos from the Black & White official Facebook page

 

Comments

6 responses to “Black & White 2: The Next Episode – Mark Chao teams up with Lin Geng Xin instead”

  1. heisui Avatar

    I know this may sound like a shocker but I actually didn’t watch B&W in all its entirety. I actually just read all of the recaps for it and watched a few scenes here and there >___________>

    Anyways I’m not a super huge Vic Zhou fan and I guess I’m not as into his character since I didn’t even watch the drama. *hides* BUT..BUT……………..LIN GENG XIN……….. <3 <3 <3
    But……..really!?!?! Does LGX's character just HAVE to be a Sherlock-Holmes-ish type character? They couldn't come up with something more creative than that? =_=

    1. kat Avatar
      kat

      *gasp* and you watched Dragon Gate but not B&W entirely!!!! LOL. It was also quite complicated and confusing though.

      I guess I’m just annoyed they’re still calling it ‘Pi Zi Ying Xiong’ without the ‘Pi Zi’! Just come up with a new name! >< HAHA Sherlock Holmes is 'in season' right now...

      1. heisui Avatar

        I KNOW, WHAT HAVE I DONE? Lol actually I’m not watching Dragon Gate entirely I just watch bits and pieces. Maybe one day I will get around to watching all of B&W but the thing is that I already kinda gave myself all the spoilers by reading the recaps so……>__>

        I know. Ok I have a hard time imagining LGX in that kind of character though since normally he is just adorable and..goofy..

        1. kat Avatar
          kat

          Maybe just watch the movie with LGX then. 😉 Even though I haven’t seen his works in the news they always portray him as the ‘not so smart’ one and people take advantage of that LOL.

          1. heisui Avatar

            By the way I like your new gravatar! 😉

          2. kat Avatar
            kat

            😉 I’m not staring at it at all lol…

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