TVB Confirmed to Film “Triumph in the Skies 2020”

At FILMART 2018, TVB revealed plans to film Triumph in the Skies 2020 <衝上雲霄2020>. The third installment of the Triumph franchise, which centers around the airline industry, will begin filming at the end of the year.

TVB plans to cast Moses Chan (陳豪), Ruco Chan (陳展鵬), and Kenneth Ma (馬國明) in Triumph in the Skies 2020.  The station will also invite William Chan (陳偉霆), Yang Mi (楊冪), Angelababy, Dilraba Dilmurat (迪麗熱巴), and Huang Zitao (黃子韜), who are popular with Mainland Chinese viewers.

As fans wish to see Francis Ng (吳鎮宇) return to anchor the series, TVB will also consider viewers’ suggestions in the casting. TVB will also feature its characters from the first two installments make appearances in the third drama.

However, due to TVB’s legal problems with Stephen Siu, Jr.‘s (蕭定一) company, Chilam Cheung (張智霖) and Myolie Wu (胡杏兒) will be not be starring in the new drama.

TVB will be partnering with Tencent to produce Triumph in the Skies 2020. With a budget of 200 million RMB, the drama will be filmed in at least three countries. The crew is currently scouting locations in Europe, Canada, Australia, and United States to find suitable scenery for the new drama.

When it was released in 2003, Triumph in the Skies aired to favorable reviews. The release of Triumph in the Skies II ignited a new demand for the pilot drama, and even spawned a film version in 2015. Francis Ng had appeared in all television and film version to-date.

Source: On.cc

This article is written by Jayne for JayneStars.com.

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Responses

  1. Not another romance story in the sky. Not interested. Since it’s a movie with huge budget and huge names, remake Airport the movie. Or any disaster film but with a happy ending.

    1. @funnlim “Triumph” is like a romance novel with glamorous locations. The first series was refreshing. Although I liked the addition of Chilam Cheung in the second drama, I couldn’t watch it in entirety because nothing significant seems to happen.

      As for the third installment, it is hard to mix Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese stars in the same cast. Due to Tencent’s involvement and the Mainland market, “Triumph in the Skies 2020” will likely have a much stronger Mainland flavor.

      But I would like to see Ruco Chan in pilot uniform. When they filmed the second series, I was hoping he would be cast.

      1. @jayne I just want them to have Fala and Michael Miu. Francis isn’t going to hold the team together with just those guys.

        For me, I don’t think Tao&Angelababy can act lol

    2. @funnlim @jayne It’s quite obvious that TVB is running out of ideas. Triumph 2 was a poor follow up to the original and the movie version (aka “extended MV”) was a complete joke. And now they are touting a 3rd installment that is supposedly going to be “grander” than the ones that came before it? Thanks but no thanks – I like my series with more substance and that’s not something I’ll be able to find in any TVB series nowadays…

      1. @llwy12 well said. Pls tell me this is just a joke from Tvb. They totally ruined the sequel. They cast many young actors with average actings and stupid plot. Actually I didn’t know what it was while watching the sequel, just can’t believe that Francis took that role.

      2. @alicesky Yup…agreed! The other part that ticked me off was the way TVB took full advantage of audiences’ nostalgia for the original installment to hype the sequel but then proceeded to pull the rug out from under them. I remember prior to Triumph 2 airing, TVB kept looping a promo clip that featured Francis’ character (in his pilot uniform) and also the iconic theme song by Eason Chan from the first installment, leading many people to believe that they were going to use the same theme song for the second installment (which, if they were paying any attention to the discussions online, was what most audiences wanted them to do, since that theme song was so closely associated with the series – plus it’s not like they hadn’t used the same theme song before with other sequels) — but then when the sequel aired, that was totally not the case, as they ended up using a brand new song sung by veteran singer George Lam. At the time, I recall seeing some backlash online at TVB’s “bait and switch” tactic but the sad thing was that there was also a lot of “hate” directed at George and also at the song’s writer Cheng Kwok Kong, which was obviously misguided and uncalled for. TVB of course didn’t explain or apologize and just let things fester, leaving others to take the hit for their stupidities as usual. It might seem like a small thing to some, but when stuff like this happens over and over again, it adds up (especially in light of everything else that goes on with the shoddy productions, internal politics, etc. etc.) — to me it speaks to the ethics of the company and makes me lose more and more respect for them….

        I am sincerely hoping that whatever ends up happening with the third installment, they don’t try to pull a fast one on the audiences again, though I doubt it since it IS TVB after all. Even if Francis doesn’t end up filming this, watch them still “use” Francis to promote the series somehow….

      3. @llwy12 yea. I feel like tvb is too busy nursing their old good times and forget how to produce series with relevant plots and deserving actors. They always promote their favorite ones and ignore ‘the real’ actors. Like why did it take long time for Mandy Wong to be a lead??? And I had to force myself to watch a great series which I don’t wanna miss it bcoz of the plot but on the other hand I had to endure the bad cast. Good news that today I don’t have to do anything since everything from Tvb is really bad. Like u said, Tvb did use that nasty way to war and beauty 2. And after that came out, audiences were so disappointed. Well, Tvb got what they deserved now, a mess….

  2. Really Yang Mi is going to be cast in here with Angelababy too? I thought they’re the higest paid actor and tvb can afford to paid them? Omg!! Imagine Angelababy and William Chan are going to be a couple in here? I heard they used to dated? It’s good to see Francis back on screen again and Ruco too and I thought Moses is leaving tvb?

    1. @cutie777 LOL…let’s not get too excited! First of all, the cast is not confirmed – as usual, TVB starts throwing out their “wish list” of names to get people talking about the series, but in reality, none of those stars were even asked to participate…it’s pretty much just TVB “hoping” they can get those artists, though 99.9% chance they won’t because those artists aren’t going to give them the time of day, the Mainland artists especially. Let’s think about it – with the HK artists, TVB can at least use the “loyalty” card to get the A-listers to film for them (often at a “friendship” price) but they have zero leverage with the big name Mainland artists (unless they partner with an influential Mainland production company on this series and get that company to recruit the artists). And Francis never said he was participating in this – that piece was the netizens wanting him in it after hearing the announcement.

      1. @llwy12
        I don’t think these huge mainland stars would be interested in working with these mediocre Hong Kong stars. Some smaller mainland stars might be interested because of the the genre which is unique and can help them gain major recognition. It is definitely a unique franchise/genre that TVB can be proud of just like ATV’s My Date with the Vampire. As soon as a China station decide to create their own aviation series then we’ll likely see an end to the sequels. We haven’t seen a major breakthough since Line Walker since the station is obsessed with making sequels and living of past glories.

      2. @jimmyszeto Actually, Mainland already made their version of Triumph, it just hasn’t aired yet. TVB knows about that version, yet that hasn’t stopped them from proceeding with this version.

        Speaking of Line Walker — TVB (Shaw Brothers) announced a Line Walker 2 movie that will once again star Nick Cheung and Louis Koo but this time it will be directed by Andrew Lau instead of Jazz Boon (they’re going with big name movie director this time instead of their own no name mediocre ones, lol).

        Oh and you guys heard that Mui Siu Ching is doing Forensic Heroes 4 too right? TVB announced that at Fimart too.

        Looks like the obsession with making sequels and re-living past glory knows no end…actually, it’s really starting to get out of hand….

      3. @llwy12
        I wonder when they will decide to make a Detective Investigation Files V or a Witness of a Prosecution 3, or maybe another 10 sequels of File of Justice….

      4. @jimmyszeto Could be coming down the pike soon, lol. Lau Ka Ho and Mui Siu Ching seem to be hell-bent on making sequels of all their popular series (that’s pretty much all they’ve done since returning to TVB several years ago), Shaw Brothers is teaming up with Wong Jing to film god knows how many collab series / movies (of course we all know that WJ is the King of Rehash, lol), and then you’ve got those artists who have their own studios and are also joining the TVB remake / sequel / spinoff bandwagon (i.e. Louis with his ASITP movie version). I honestly don’t think it’s ever going to end….

      5. @llwy12
        Just skimmed through the Filmart. Looks like Vincent has got the most meaty role again in ‘Brothers’ alongside Matt Yeung and Philip No. Probably easily the most anticipated series this year so far. I’m actually really looking forward to Justice Bao which will give the many support actor/actresses the opportunity to shine. It is definite worthy of a remake…

      6. @jimmyszeto Interestingly enough, I went through most of the Filmart stuff this year paying more attention to the non-TVB / non-Shaw Brothers related series/movies than anything else (yet another sign that I’m starting to get sick of TVB, lol). With that said though, so far there haven’t been many web series I’m interested in watching (at least not the ones announced at Filmart) but there are plenty of movies that sound really good – for instance: Kara Wai’s “A Life of Papers” (which is also from Louis Koo’s production company One Cool Film – I’m more interested in this movie than the ASITP movie tbh), Anthony Wong’s “Still Human” (this year’s Asia Film Financing Forum pick for HK), Philip Keung’s Tracey (wow, that poster! how many HK films do we see out there that dare to cover transgender topic?), Sammi Cheng and Charlene Choi’s “Murder in San Jose” (based on Candace Chong’s stageplay – I will pretty much watch anything related to Candace Chong’s works, lol), Nick Cheung + Sean Lau reunion film “Integrity” (this one is from the creators of “Infernal Affairs” and will be another trilogy – I honestly don’t care about the story on this one though…I just want to see Nick and Sean battle acting chops again, lol!).

      7. @llwy12 Well it’s not that I’m excited about the cast I’m just surprised about the cast tvb can afford to paid them if that’s the case because the news claimed that these actors are the highest paid and of course tvb is paying cheap that’s why so many good actors left this day after their contract expires.

      8. @cutie777 Since TVB is partnering with Tencent, the filming budget for “Triumph in the Skies 2020” will be 200 RMB. They can afford to hire some stars who are popular in Mainland China. After all, they want to make the drama appealing for Mainland viewers in order to make this a profitable production.

      9. @jayne Well, even with this huge budget I still don’t think they have enough to cast the whole bunch of Mainland actors though. I read an article from my home country, AB’s salary is already at 100 plus million RMB per drama and William is at 90 million RMB. The two alone already take up the whole budget, not to mention Yang Mi and Dil…
        Anyway, you are so right, this drama mainly caters to Mainland viewers. TVB does not care if Hong Kong viewers reject it or not. All for the big fish.

      10. @olivegarden The above is just TVB’s wish list for “Triumph in the Skies 2020”. If they want someone like Yang Mi, it may only be a guest starring role where she appears in a few episodes. Yang Mi is so busy with her own productions and she certainly doesn’t need “Triumph” to boost her family any more.

        But they will balance the budget with mix of Mainland and Hong Kong stars.

      11. @llwy12 lol oh wow I forgot William and Angelababy use to date

        *big doubt* TVB make a lot, but doesn’t share so unless there is some huge huge connection, I wouldn’t count on it

  3. According to tvb press conference at Filmart, cast wasn’t been confirmed yet.. I guess we can only hope for the best.

  4. I can never understand the hype of this so called great but such an average and boring series. sighh……

  5. Bigger questions at hand:

    1) will this, FH4 and other planned series actually roll out? In past tvb presentations some series either end up being cancelled or the actual product becomes drastically different in terms of cast and/or story.

    2) What happens if Francis doesn’t partake in the third instalment? If this happens I can tell interest would likely plummet hard even with the likes of Ruco and Kenneth.

    1. @kirigiri Good questions. FH4 is definitely going to happen because Mui Shiu Ching is producing it and she has nothing else to do pretty much. When both she and her husband Lau Ka Ho returned to TVB, they had already announced their plan to film sequels to their series, but on a “grander”scale and in collaboration with Mainland. As for the cast, that’s what will probably change depending on various factors such as schedules, politics, etc.

      For Triumph 3, if Francis doesn’t participate (my guess is that he won’t), TVB is going to move forward with it still because they are greedy and not going to let the opportunity pass them by to continue milking the franchise. The other option would’ve been to play up the Cool Mort piece since Chi Lam got pretty popular after the 2nd installment so if Francis couldn’t participate, that could’ve been consolation prize at least, but with TVB’s current dispute with Stephen Shiu Jr’s company HMV/China 3D (Chi Lam is signed to them) that’s not an option either. Either way, they will find a way to “justify” it like they always do. And it doesn’t matter one bit if interest plummets — since TVB still monopolizes the industry, they can basically do whatever they please without regard for what others think.

  6. I wish Francis can stop filming for TVB because they don’t give him good roles that are worthy of his acting.

    And if TVB is venturing on another joint project from the Mainland, I hope they learnt from the failure of “Master of Destiny” and don’t repeat the same mistake. Too many characters means the script has to be very intense to let ALL the characters shine. If not, then it would just be another babysitting project.

    Stars can add to the hype and popularity, but a crappy plot will still be a crappy plot. If I want to watch nice scenery that I would watch a travel show instead than put up with a crappy plot. TVb really needs to put more effort int he substance than the gloss on top before they go off promoting it as another A-class project.

  7. Why do they keep recycling stone age dramas and refresh them with new casts? Are they short of people who can write new stories and good scripts? The first one was OK. The second one – though it got the best drama award – was boring. What else can they talk about in the third one, more romance? PLEASE, GIVE US A BREAK.

    1. @lewismcchan Yea, exactly. Most of us feel the same way. But unfortunately TVB (and the production studios in general) don’t feel that way. They assume they know what audiences want when they really don’t or they ask people who they know think like them and/or will tell them what they want to hear and then broad-stroke it to “justify” that is what all audiences want (which, by the way, is exactly what producer Lau Ka Ho did and that’s why we got the disaster that was Heart and Greed). Sometimes, it also has to do with the pressure from business sponsors and/or investors that they partner up with who can have significant influence on the direction a production goes in or even if the project gets off the ground in the first place (Brother’s Keeper 2 is the ultimate example of this – that was another series that didn’t have to happen, but because of obligations to the bakery that sponsored the first installment, they not only had to push out a second installment, they also had to make sure the script was written in a way that catered to that sponsor, which is why that series ended up sucking so badly in terms of script). At this point, I’m not sure which scenario Triumph 3 falls into, since we weren’t told the reason behind the decision to make yet another installment, but regardless, I have zero confidence that TVB is going to get things right this time either. The other element to keep in mind too is that this is a co-production with Tencent and they are the ones providing the “big money” to film this, not TVB, which means that Tencent is ultimately going to be the ones calling the shots. With TVB’s own series where there was no financial involvement from Mainland with the filming but they wanted to air the series on Mainland streaming platform (Youku, Tudou, Tencent, iQiyi, etc.), they already had to concede control over certain aspects of the production (i.e. allowing Mainland audiences to watch 10 episodes all at once while HK audiences had to wait and watch 1 episode at a time, thereby impacting the series’ ratings in HK), so with this production where Mainland is providing most of the money, no doubt TVB will have even less control. Basically, with this series, don’t be surprised if it ends up being Mainland artists in the lead or “important” roles while all the TVB people are pushed to “second billing” type roles…

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