The new Fearless 50-episode TV series has just wrapped up and is set to drop soon. Vincent Zhao is in the starring role as Huo YuanJia, the legendary real-life martial artists previously played by Jet Li in the movie Fearless.
Vincent Zhao is often overlooked and should have far more recognition then he does as he’s made some truly great martial arts movies such as True Legend, Fist Power, the Once upon in China TV show and of course the first thing I saw him in, The Black Sheep Affair. More recently he stared in Kung Fu league, Unity of Heroes and God of War.
This is not the first TV show of the famous martial arts master Huo YuanJia. There was Legend of Huo YuanJia back in 2001 which Vincent Zhao also stared as the master.
Once again it tells the story of Wushu master Huo YuanJia, how he became the most famous fighters in China, challenging the Russian wrestler Xiyuan Park and defeating Irish boxer
Hercules O’Brien then going on to found the Chin Woo Athletic Association which went on becoming a world renown organisation. Ultimately it all led to tragedy. Huo suffered from Jaundice and Tuberculosis. His health started failing and he died at the young age of only 42. Some believe Huo YuanJia was poisoned. The physician who treated him was a member of the Japanese Judo Association. The fictional character Chen Zhen famously portrayed by Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury and Jet Li in Fist of Legend was believed to be based on Liu Zhensheng. One of Huo YuanJia most skilled students. Liu Zhensheng competed with a judo practitioner which resulted in a brawl. Members of the judo team were injured with broken hands and fingers including the head instructor. As a result, some believe the physician poisoned Huo in revenge for this as arsenic was found in his system at a later autopsy but Chinses medicine in general back then contained arsenic.
The series will debut on Chinese internet platform Iqiyi later this year but let’s hope we get an international release soon. Check out the trailer below.
