Esther Yu’s Elusive Male Lead for “The Immortal Bone”

Chinese drama actress Esther Yu (虞書欣) teamed up with He Yu (何與) earlier this year in Speed and Love<雙軌>, but the drama received only lukewarm reviews. Coupled with previous bullying allegations that caused her popularity to plunge, Esther is now in urgent need of a breakout hit to consolidate her position.

Spate of Scandals Dim Esther’s Stardom

She is set to begin filming the new fantasy epic The Immortal Bone <長生骨>. However, the production has reportedly faced repeated difficulties in casting its male lead. So far, five actors — including He Yu, Deng Wei (鄧為), Neo Hou (侯明昊), Hu Yitian (胡一天) and Chen Xingxu (陳星旭) — have been linked to the role, but none have accepted it. Together with the drama having changed its title three times, and the fact that xianxia dramas are no longer as well-received as before, many netizens believe The Immortal Bone will struggle to become a hit due to three major reasons:

In the past, Esther Yu’s dramas Love Between Fairy and Devil <蒼蘭訣> and Love Like the Galaxy <永夜星河> both became major hits. As a result, her previous projects Speed and Love and Love Like Stars <燦如繁星> were able to secure male leads very quickly and move seamlessly into filming. However, after Esther was last year embroiled in bullying allegations, and after her family was also accused of involvement in a 6.5 billion yuan corruption-related controversy, she reportedly lost millions of followers overnight. To date, she has yet to directly respond to the matter, which has also affected her subsequent acting career.

Esther is now preparing to join the filming of The Immortal Bone. The drama was initially titled Shen Xian Rou, before being renamed Nian Xiang Si, and finally settling on its current name. However, many feel that the title carries an old-fashioned xianxia flavor and does little to spark interest. On top of that, xianxia dramas in recent years have largely struggled to deliver strong returns, which has further dampened expectations that Chang Sheng Gu can become a breakout success.

Beyond its less-than-promising genre and title, The Immortal Bone has still yet to officially confirm its male lead. In the past, He Yu, Deng Wei, Neo Hou, Hu Yitian and Chen Xingxu were all rumored to be in talks for the role, but reportedly turned it down due to billing issues and the controversy surrounding Esther.

According to recent reports, the actual male lead has yet to be revealed. However, with only around 20 days left before filming is expected to begin, many netizens believe the rushed casting process may make it difficult for the actor to fully capture the character’s essence. For these reasons, the drama has already been widely written off before filming has even started.

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