Good dramas depend on waiting. This is already an unwritten law in the Chinese drama circle.
is talking about it - "White Night Chase 2" .
In 2017, the movie "White Night" became popular all over the Internet. Since then, online dramas have emerged. Suspense crime dramas have gradually become an important force in the Chinese drama genre because of it.
Although "White Night Chase 2" was officially announced when it was on the air.
But in the past seven years, some news has come out every year, but the thunder is loud and the rain is small, and the pipa is half-hidden.
The audience's patience is almost exhausted, but "White Night 2" is so far away that many people feel that this sequel may be "stillborn".
It was not until last year that "White Night 2" was finally officially announced. In June this year,
suddenly announced that it had obtained a distribution license and would be broadcast in the summer. On the
media platform, the broadcast date of "White Night Chase 2" has also been set to August. As soon as the news of
was released, it immediately caused an uproar. On the broadcast platform, the reservation record for "White Night 2" has exceeded 1.86 million people.
Even CCTV sat behind the scenes and announced it personally.
The public is eagerly awaiting it, and this year’s hot model seems to be booked in advance.
There are many mysteries that have yet to be solved around "White Night", whether it is the plot in the play or the story outside the play. As the second part of
is about to be aired, Mr. Tomato will talk to you today about the experiences of this show in the past seven years and the big holes that must be filled.
01. Why is the sequel to the hit drama "White Night" delayed again and again?
Generally speaking, for a popular drama, the sequel will be filmed immediately.
After all, a drama needs to become popular in order to gain traffic and attention, and it will be easier for investors to get their money back.
In fact, the same is true for "White Night".
The first part was broadcast in 2017. Pan Yueming mentioned in an interview in 2018 that the second part is already on the horizon. It is expected to start filming in the second half of 2018 and be broadcast in the summer of 2019.
But after that, there was no news about the entire show.
The next time I see it online, it will be in 2020.
director Wang Wei brought pessimistic news: "I personally do not plan to continue as a director."
Wang Wei did not lie, because judging from the current information, the director of "White Night 2" It is the first video camera Liu Yingjian .
The name of the series was also changed to "Daybreak".
" Chasing the Murderer " and " Breaking Dawn " are one word different, but if reflected in the plot, they may be very different. We will discuss the plot later.
As for why it has not been filmed for so long, there are three rumors in the market that are believed by most viewers.
The first one is the script lawsuit.
It is rumored on the Internet that the story content of the first four episodes of the script of "White Night" was jointly conceived by Fingerprint and his girlfriend Chen Qiongqiong.
But after the series was aired, the "Screenwriter" column only contained one person's name and fingerprint. This made Chen Qiongqiong very unhappy, so she went to court.
This lawsuit has been fought from 2018 to 2020, and there has been no conclusion.
As for the script of the second part, there has been no clear authorization due to legal issues, so it has been delayed to this day and has not been resolved.
However, this statement is questionable because some netizens learned from the referee documents that the demands for the Chen Qiongqiong script dispute were nothing more than an apology, and did not involve core issues such as script ownership and authorization.
So it is unlikely that the filming will be postponed due to the lawsuit.
The second one is the scale issue.
As we all know, the scale of "White Night" is relatively large.
not only involves the massacre of a family, there are many plots of the case in the play, which are also very sensitive. The first part of
is like this, but the second part may be even more serious.
The first part of "White Night" was released after many cuts. As for its subsequent popularity, the creator actually did not expect it.
Then in the second part, it will definitely face more severe scrutiny.
This point was actually revealed to some extent in Wang Wei’s interview.
Wang Wei once said that the script of "White Night 2" came out very early, but many things needed to be modified. This touched the essence of the play and affected the connection between the first and second parts. He was unable to make a balance, so he kept it on hold. .
Later, some netizens revealed that "White Night 2" has been changed to at least three versions.
During this period, the companion piece of "White Night" " Rebirth " has been produced and broadcast.
There are different opinions on the Internet about this, and it is difficult for us to judge whether this is the reason. But what is certain is that the progress of "White Night Chase 2" will be affected, which is almost understandable.
The third one is that Pan Yueming is not scheduled.
As we all know, in the past seven years, the busiest actor in "White Night" may be the lead actor Pan Yueming.
After 2017, Pan Yueming suddenly became the hottest male lead in online dramas, and even won the role of Hu Bayi , the male protagonist in Tencent's "鬼BLOWLED" series.
He successively filmed " Nu Qing Xiangxi " in 19 years, " Longling Miku " in 20 years, and " Yunnan Worm Valley " in 2021. I filmed " Kunlun Shrine " , and in 2023 I filmed "Return to the Ruins of the South China Sea" ...
has a fast pace and a tight schedule, basically one film a year, with other activities and works interspersed in between. Therefore, some netizens said that the delay in filming "White Night 2" was because Pan Yueming could not spare the time.
In fact, this statement is not very credible.
First of all, including "White Night" and "Ghost Blowing the Lamp", these are web dramas, and the production time of web dramas does not take as long as everyone thinks.
In the "Ghost Blowing Lamp" series, the average production time for one film is about 90 days.
The first part of "White Night" only took 120 days to shoot.
html In 2007, Pan Yueming found time to film the obviously hit drama "White Night 2", so it was impossible that he would not have any free time.Judging from the current situation, "White Night Chase 2" has been delayed again and again, which is most likely the result of various factors superimposed together.
Fortunately, it will be broadcast now, and everyone’s regrets may be made up for.
Well, many people have forgotten the plot of the first film in 7 years.
What should you know before watching the second part?
02. Who has the last laugh, the good guy or the bad guy? Sooner or later, the three major mysteries will have to be filled in.
Let me first ask, why is "White Night" so good to watch?
This suspenseful crime drama combines the three cool points of all such dramas. The first cool thing about
is the novelty of the characters.
The story begins with a tragedy in which a family was wiped out. His younger brother Guan Hongyu became a wanted criminal by mistake, while his elder brother Guan Hongfeng happened to be serving in the police station.
Two people, one civilized and one military, one bright and one dark, exchange identities during the day, brainstorm at night, and solve crimes together.
Due to the different personalities of the two, on the basis of suspense, it also triggered a lot of interesting plots and jokes, which are unexpected.
also satisfies the audience's curiosity in the suspenseful atmosphere, such as how the younger brother fell in love with his girlfriend after exchanging identities, and how he got along with his older brother.
There are several perceptions of one kind of drama, which makes people want to put it down. The second cool thing about
is the unit case.
Although "White Night Chase" is connected by the main line of the murder case.
But the main content of the series is actually unit cases with social practical significance.
These cases are based on real crimes. The process of solving the cases is exciting and brain-burning, and every case touches on social issues, which makes the audience suddenly realize.
Watching "White Night" feels like watching the Chinese version of "Detective Conan".
's continuous complex cases continue to stimulate the audience's nerves. After watching one, they still want to watch another.
Based on this, "White Night" has the hook to attract the audience, which is why it can arouse such surging popularity.
The third cool thing is the main case.
This drama is very fast-paced, and clues to the main case are interspersed from time to time in the middle of the unit cases.
The core content of the entire drama is the process of how the elder brother and younger brother clear their suspicions through mutual investigation and evidence collection and information exchange.
Because of the exchange of identities, every little difference between them is easily exposed.
This is the most secret excitement in the play.
Are there still bad guys in the police station? What does the murder case mean? This is a hidden clue that has not been revealed from the beginning to the end of the series.
If one answer can't be solved, another one will come immediately. This has also become the popular basic plan of "White Night Chase".
The reason why the audience is looking forward to the second part is because there are too many mysteries unearthed in the first part. "White Night 2" must fill in some pitfalls, especially the three plot mysteries, which are necessary for it to become a hit.
But how to fill in this mystery? We don't know yet.
The first mystery is the real culprit of the family murder case.
Through the plot of the first part, it can be basically confirmed that Guan Hongyu is not the murderer, and the real murderer is probably Zhou Shutong's ex-boyfriend, Ye Fangzhou who was expelled from the police force.
However, Ye Fangzhou's identity is not the most important.
He is obviously just a pawn, and there is a larger organization behind him.
What is the origin of this organization, and why did it want to kill Wu Zheng's family? Is there any collusion between the organization
and the police department?
These may all be explained clearly in the second part.
The second mystery is the identity mystery.
There is a big hook at the end of the episode. The ending of
rhymes. Did the brother and brother exchange identities? What method was used?
In fact, the clues can already be seen in Pan Yueming's evil smile at the end.
After all, the biggest difference between an elder brother and a younger brother is not only their personality, but also their illness.
's brother Guan Hongfeng has "dark phobia", which also explains the authenticity of the final substitution plot.
But what we don’t know is that this drama lacks a reasonable explanation.
In other words, the character's motivation.
The third mystery is a lot of small foreshadowing and mysteries.
gives a few simple examples.
Wang Longzheng plays Zhou Xun. He and Guan Hongfeng are good colleagues, but they are also roadblocks.
Zhou Xun kept Guan Hongfeng by his side as a consultant. In addition to appreciating his talent, he also wanted to use Guan Hongfeng to dig up information about Guan Hongyu and arrest him.
Guan Hongfeng is just a bait. What Zhou Xun really cares about is catching people and telling the truth.
Obviously, in the second part, Zhou Xun is still a stumbling block for the two brothers on their way to find the real murderer.
In addition, in the first part, the true identity of Han Bin is also a mystery.
No one still knows who killed Ye Fangzhou.
These are destined to be answered in the second part. As for how to arrange the plot, it depends on the level of the director and screenwriter.
03. Should we raise the threshold or lower our expectations? Three hidden worries: Carefully consider what
can be sure of. "White Night 2" is destined to be a hit.
html waited in 2007, with the original cast, which in itself is a huge gimmick.In recent years, many crime suspense dramas have become popular thanks to "White Night", and they are reaping its dividends.
"White Night" is also the largest suspense crime IP in the past ten years. The crime universe surrounding it has been unfolded, let alone the main character.
Someone previously took a Reuters photo of Pan Yueming when he was filming the second part.
It can be seen that Pan Yueming has also made full efforts, especially in terms of figure and appearance, which are basically the same as 7 years ago.
Wang Zhenglong, who plays Zhou Xun, has not excessively consumed his image in recent years. The screenwriters of the second part of
are still the same people, and the actors are still the same people. On the surface, they are impeccable.
But behind the scenes, there are three hidden worries that make Mr. Tomato feel that he should not have too high expectations yet.
The first point is the replacement of directors.
The temperament of a drama as a whole depends on the director. The high quality of
's first "White Night" is inseparable from director Wang Wei's ingenuity and paranoia. He no longer participates in the second part of
. To a large extent, perhaps because he is unwilling to compromise on some hard issues.
New director Liu Yingjian has a background in photography. He has not had any blockbuster films in the past two years, so his directing ability cannot be verified. As for
's final appearance in the series, it is not yet known what the outcome will be.
However, compared to the first film, what the audience is looking forward to more is naturally retaining Wang Wei's original characteristics of "White Night".
The second point is the change of the drama title.
We have said before that the change from "Breaking Dawn" to "Breaking Dawn" seems to have the same meaning, but in fact, what has changed is the temperament of the series.
"Chasing the Murderer" pays more attention to the process and is a dynamic word, showing the excitement of the two brothers working together to investigate the case day and night; "Breaking Dawn" pays more attention to the results, sounds more positive and closer to adjectives.
What the word brings to mind seems to be more like a happy ending. It has lost the cold and fierce aura of the previous "The Chase" and has a softer background.
However, the background of "White Night" is destined to be sharp rather than gentle. This small change may bring about earth-shaking changes to the plot.
The third point is that suspense crime web dramas have changed.
A lot has happened in the past seven years.
As for suspense crime web dramas, they have also experienced highs and lows.
When "White Night" was released in 2017, it was in the growth period of this type of online dramas - "Undocumented Crime" and " River God ", plus the previous "Remaining Crime" and "Forensic Qin Ming", the same type The drama became a big fire and exploded.
But after that, it ushered in a large-scale rectification and trough.
The second part of these dramas either died young or was changed beyond recognition.
After 2020, online dramas began to be influenced by high-quality Chinese dramas and take the high-quality route, such as "The Silent Truth", "The Hidden Corner", " The Long Season", "Night Walker", "Hurry"...
But at the same time, things have changed. Yes, there is also the authentic realistic style of "White Night".
These popular dramas almost all integrate the characteristics of period dramas. The characteristics of the dramas are not focused on the "crime", but more on the portrayal of human nature, the creation of a suspenseful atmosphere and the handling of plot suspense.
In the past seven years, truly vigorous crime dramas have become rare.
This may be one of the reasons why the public is eagerly looking forward to "White Night 2".
said so much, in any case, the series is already on the horizon.
takes everyone to understand the past and present life of "White Night Chase 2", and also hopes that this drama can live up to our expectations.
(Movie Rotten Tomatoes Editorial Department: Miaomiao)
