Taiwan pop singer, songwriter, actor and director Jay Chou will soon direct and act in a sci-fi TV series featuring two panda superheroes. The mando-pop superstar held a press conference in Beijing this week to reveal details about his latest directorial effort.
China's cuddly unofficial mascot, the panda, was the global star of 2008 with the hugely successful Hollywood animation "Kungfu Panda." Now Jay Chou is looking to increase panda mania worldwide.
His new TV series "Pandamen" is set in the year 2030, when the world is under threat from evil men who are trying to control people's minds. Two young heroes transform themselves into supermen in panda armor to save the world.
The story also features a butler and one of the superheroes is the son of a wealthy philanthropist, bringing to mind the Batman series. Chou admits to being a fan of Western comics and drawing inspiration from them. But he is quick to point out that the idea of panda superpower is very Chinese.
The director and actor of "Pandamen" Jay Chou said, "Spiderman and Batman are foreign heroes. There's no modern super hero in Chinese films and TV serials. I wanted to change this. I set the story in 2030, because I don't want it to be too faraway to imagine. I will use my own futuristic-look cars and the weapons will be very advanced. But I hope by 2030, human beings don't need weapons anymore. This TV drama is all about love."
