After it was reported that Yang Mi may be joining the cast of Peter Chan’s upcoming movie, “Murder of the Husband” (aka “The Murderer”), a new rumour has emerged that the movie has decided on a different second female lead – that being Zanilia Zhao.
The new rumour has had fans of both actresses clamouring, after a source stated that the second lead was reserved for Zanilia and that she will be joining the cast after she completes filming her other project.
It was also rumoured that Yang Mi will instead make a guest appearance as a female prisoner.
On the other hand, fans of Yang Mi are saying that it could be nothing more than a rumour, as the director himself had been seen meeting with Yang Mi earlier. Her name is also listed in the Douban entry for the movie, but there was no mention of Zanilia in the list.
The true crime suspense thriller, which also stars Zhang Ziyi, is adapted from one of the four mysterious cases in China in the ’40s, and tells the story of a butcher who was murdered and quartered by his wife after many periods of gambling and abuse.
The case coincided with the prevalence of feminism in Shanghai at the time, with a female writer setting off a wave of new public opinion by stating that the tragedy was the result of thousands of years of patriarchy and lack of equality.
(Photo Source: Zhang Ziyi Fanpage IG, Zanilia Zhao Weibo, Yang Mi Weibo)