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AMC’s Badlands has cast its lead.
International film star Daniel Wu — who was already attached to the drama as an exec producer — will topline the martial arts drama, AMC announced Friday.
Badlands is described as a genre-bending martial arts series very loosely based on the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West. In a land controlled by feudal barons, Badlands tells the story of a ruthless, well-trained warrior named Sunny (Wu) and a young boy who embark on a journey across a dangerous land to find enlightenment.
Read more AMC Orders Martial Arts Drama ‘Badlands’ Straight to Series
Wu joins a cast that also includes Emily Beecham (28 Weeks Later, The Village), Sarah Bolger (The Tudors) and Oliver Stark (The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box).
The drama was created by writer-showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville), who will exec produce alongside Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg (Pulp Fiction) and martial arts filmmakers Wu (Tai Chi Zero) and Stephen Fung. Entertainment One will handle international distribution. David Dobkin (Shanghai Knights) will be the series director.
Wu has been featured in more than 60 films including City of Glass and The Heavenly Kings, the latter of which marked his directorial debut and earned him a best director Chinese Film Media Award.
AMC has ordered six hourlong episodes of Badlands, with a premiere targeted for late 2015 or early 2016.
Wu is repped by CAA.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
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