Ex-EXO member Tao has landed himself a major role in "Railroad Tigers," an upcoming Chinese movie starring Jackie Chan and Xu Fan. The 27-year-old star, whose real name is Huang Zitao, will play the flirty-talkative, Dai Ha, who turns into a traitor.
The forthcoming action film, which has a production budget of $50 million, is set in a wartime China in 1941 and takes after a railroad laborer, Ma Yuan (Chan), who drives a team of freedom fighters against the Japanese in order to get sustenance for the starving Chinese population. The film will benefit from the work of director by Ding Sheng, whose previous projects include the action crime thriller film, "Police Story 2013."
Although the film's production team is not too keen on revealing in-depth details, it was learned that the action film is currently in its post-production stage. Recently, director Sheng discussed the progress on his new film and revealed that it is his third collaboration with Chan. He also complimented Tao's diligent work amid shooting the film.
"It's also the first time that Huang Zitao has gotten to play such a major role," director Sheng said, as quoted by One Hallyu. "He has a lot of scenes, is present throughout the whole film and is a proper character in the movie. The film's very first opening scene is of Huang Zitao."
Director Sheng goes ahead to reveal that he wrote the story according to Tao's special characteristic, as he aims to keep the latter's character close to his actual personality. He then noted that fans should expect a slew of humor in the film, as each character tries to find euphoria regardless of all the misfortune.
Much to the delight of fans, an official "Railroad Tigers" posters were unveiled on the film's Weibo account. Taiwanese actor Darren Wang and Wang Kai also stars in the upcoming film. They were given a role to play Da Guo and Xiao Qi, respectively.
The film, which is backed up by Shanghai Film Group, Sparkle Roll Media Corp., Beijing Going Zoom Media and Shanghai New Culture Media Group, is scheduled for release in China on Dec. 16, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. According to the publication, Hong Kong's Golden Network Asia has picked up the film's international rights.
Check out the trailer below: