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Will Smith attends the closing ceremony of the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 28, 2017, in Cannes, France. (Image has been converted to black and white.) /VCG Photo
"Gemini Man" is all set to enthrall the audiences in China.
The upcoming sci-fi action-thriller, at the helm of Oscar winner Ang Lee, is scheduled to be shown on October 18 on the Chinese mainland, according to the film's official Weibo account Monday.
The film stars celebrated actor Will Smith as elite government assassin Henry Brogan, who finds himself being targeted by a mysterious young operative who is seemingly capable of predicting his every move.
Ang Lee attends the RealD Sponsors World Premiere of "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" at AMC Loews Lincoln Square on October 14, 2016, in New York City. /VCG Photo
An official Chinese trailer released recently is a perfect blend of action and plot that offers a closer look at some of the most stunning fights and battles in Lee's new work.
In the trailer, Smith faces off against his younger self, appearing as both the aging agent at 50 years old and a "younger clone" at an age of 23 – a complete digital avatar of himself.
The hashtags "Gemini Man sets release date" and "Ang Lee's new work sets release date" soon began trending on Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform, with over 100 million views so far.
Will Smith receives a crowd of fans upon his arrival on the set of the film "Gemini Man" in the city of Cartagena de Indias on April 23, 2018. /VCG Photo
Many netizens referred to the younger Smith's shots, expressing their astonishment at how effective and vivid the scenes are as the older Smith says in the trailer: "It was like I was seeing a ghost."
The film, written by David Benioff and Billy Ray, also stars Clive Owen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Benedict Wong.
It will come out earlier worldwide with the North America theatrical release on October 11, a week ahead of its China premiere.
A fusion of science and art
The set of "Gemini Man" in Georgia, U.S., April 2, 2018. /VCG Photo
While much of his work known for its exquisite emotion and profound atmosphere, Lee never stops pushing the limits of film production with the most cutting-edge technologies, especially in the past decade.
His recent works is a blend of fusion of science and art, from the 2012 acclaimed feature "Life of Pi," for which he pocketed his second Academy Award for Best Director, and the 2016 pioneering work "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk," which was the first film ever shot at 120 frames per second.
In addition to deploying CGI to make Smith's younger self, Lee further continued his experiment of innovative formats in "Gemini Man," which was shot in 3D at 120 frames per second and 4K resolution.
Director Ang Lee, winner of the Best Director award for "Life of Pi," poses in the press room during the Oscars held at Loews Hollywood Hotel on February 24, 2013, in Hollywood, California. /VCG Photo
The high frame rate production calls for special projection systems in the cinemas, and hence, it sees limited distribution in the premium format.
As the Variety reported back in April, China's Fosun Pictures has joined Skydance and Paramount Pictures as the global partner on "Gemini Man."
Recently, the Huaxia Film, another domestic leading film distributor, introduced CINITY Cinema outfitted with the advanced format film projection, showcasing the trailer of Lee's highly-anticipated piece at the launch.