NYCC 2016: The Great Wall interviews with Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal and more!

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

THE GREAT WALL has been in the works since 2012, when Ed Zwick was attached to direct Henry Cavill in the period-fantasy about the creation of the iconic Chinese structure and the mythical creatures it is meant to keep out. As you may have heard, Zwick and Cavill are out, and visionary director Zhang Yimou and superstar Matt Damon are in, and THE GREAT WALL will be ready to be climbed in February 2017.

To help build some substantial buzz on the epic, Legendary Pictures brought the new trailer for the film to New York Comic-Con, along with Damon, Yimou, co-stars Pedro Pascal, Junkai Wang and Jing Tian. The trailer you’ve likely already seen, but how about taking a gander at our interviews with the cast and director!

It was Matt Damon‘s birthday on the day he came to NYCC with THE GREAT WALL (the entire crowd sang Happy Birthday to him before the panel started in earnest), so after talking about that for a second, he and I discussed the immense scope of Zhang Yimou‘s vision, and much more.

Pedro Pascal is already well known to the NYCC crowd thanks to his turn as The Red Viper in Game of Thrones, so it seemed like he felt quite at home on the stage of The Theater at MSG, where THE GREAT WALL footage was shown. Speaking with Pascal afterward, he talked about being a fanboy of Zhang Yimou, how his life has changed since Game of Thrones, whether or not he watches himself on TV and more!

Zhang Yimou has directed some of the most beautiful movies ever, period: RAISE THE RED LANTERN, TO LIVE, HERO, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS. Oh, he also directed the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony in 2008, which is still probably the coolest opening ceremony in the history of the games. Speaking to him was a real honor, even if it was through an interpreter.

She may be a star in China, but Jing Tian isn’t a well-known name in the states yet. Yet. In addition to her English language debut in THE GREAT WALL, we’ll also be seeing her in Legendary’s upcoming KONG: SKULL ISLAND and PACIFIC RIM: MAELSTROM. Obviously, this is a good time to become familiar with the actress!

Finally, we have a name that is, again, unfamiliar to most in the states, but in China (and elsewhere) it’s as famous as Justin Bieber and Justin Timberlake combined. Junkai Wang (aka Karry Wang) is a full-blown superstar in his homeland, and coming to NYCC with THE GREAT WALL was his first real exposure to the U.S. and the Comic-Con culture. Lucky him! He’s a soft spoken young man, as you’ll see; quite fun meeting someone that is incredibly famous that you have no preconceived notions about.