Fresh off the first images debut earlier this morning, Universal Pictures and Legendary have unveiled the first trailer for The Great Wall. Directed by Hero and House of Flying Daggers director Zhang Yimou, the film stars Matt Damon and tells the “true” story behind why the titular Great Wall of China was built in the first place. Set 1,000 years in the past, an elite force makes a valiant stand for humanity atop the titular wall, which is constructed to keep out a beast of monstrous proportions.

Visually, this thing looks pretty spectacular. Legendary made a swell call in enlisting Yimou to direct and giving him a Hollywood blockbuster budget to work with, and this appears to be a fantastic blend of Chinese and Hollywood filmmaking sensibilities. Story-wise, though, it remains to be seen if this will all come off as silly, or if the danger is visceral. No doubt the film was made with Chinese box office prospects in mind, so this will be a curious one to keep an eye on next year.

Watch the Great Wall trailer below. Written by Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro, and Tony Gilroy, the film also stars Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, Hanyu Zhang, Eddie Peng, Lu Han, Kenny Lin, Junkai Wang, Zheng Kai, Cheney Chen, Xuan Huang, and Andy Lau. The Great Wall opens in 3D on February 17, 2017.


Here’s the official synopsis for The Great Wall:

Starring global superstar Matt Damon and directed by one of the most breathtaking visual stylists of our time, Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers), Legendary’s The Great Wall tells the story of an elite force making a valiant stand for humanity on the world’s most iconic structure. The first English-language production for Yimou is the largest film ever shot entirely in China. The Great Wall also stars Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe and Andy Lau.

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Image via Legendary/Universal
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Image via Legendary/Universal
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Image via Legendary/Universal

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