Brother Dao Took the Entertainment Industry by Storm, Fans Beg Me Not to Kill Anymore

Chapter 988: News about "Phantom Thieves Alliance 3" and "Sumiya 3"

"Is this filming also being done overseas?"

Xiao He wasn't too surprised by Zhuang Hongyi's arrangement.

It seems to have become a tradition for the Phantom Thieves to travel to different countries.

"The last film was set in a perfume town in France. Where are you planning to go this time, Director Zhuang?"

"Hmm—well, please allow me to keep you in suspense for a moment. There was a hint at it at the end of the second movie, didn't you guess it?"

"Wasn't that Easter egg just a word I said offhand?"

Xiao He frowned.

Besides, when I asked him last year, he himself answered that he hadn't thought about it yet.

They even said that other bloggers' analyses were over-interpreting.

Goodness, they all change their tune so quickly.

So, who started this trend of directors also liking to be riddle tellers?

These actors sometimes have a lot of helplessness!

“This time, the main event will add more important series characters, and your role will be more prominent than in the previous two installments. I’ll send you the script in a few days, so you can prepare in advance—” Zhuang Hongyi paused, still not revealing where they were going, but instead asked indirectly, “By the way, is Shu Han available in the second half of the year? He could also play a recurring role.”

Xiao He: "I'm not sure about that, but I should be free. However, I don't know if I'll be free in a few days."

After all, they are still in the promotional period, and the company has a lot of announcements and invitations backlogged recently. Once this period is over and all the upcoming schedules are confirmed, there will definitely be no time to go to Director Zhuang's place.

"That's why I asked in advance."

Upon hearing that there was still a chance, Zhuang Hongyi immediately stopped hiding his intentions and stated his purpose directly.

Only then did Xiao He realize that this guy hadn't come to talk to him about the script for "The Phantom Thief 3" at all; he was clearly here to grab Shu Han and get him to film "The Phantom Thief 3" together!

Goodness, he said that the preparations for "Long" are not even finished yet, and he still has to film "Yu Ye" first. Why is he talking about "Phantom Thief 3" so far in advance? It turns out that he knows that he has been tied to the Phantom Thief series, so he is seizing the opportunity to tie Ling Hui and the other one to the ship as well!

If you calculate it that way, "Phantom Thief 3" is basically a meeting of popular movie stars!

Director Zhuang has quite the ambition!

Having just unleashed his talent and imagination on "Long," he's already churning out a commercial film, with the script already finalized for next year's Spring Festival release.

As expected of you, Director Zhuang!

Xiao He had nothing to say: "Okay, it's perfect since we've been working together all the time. I'll give you Agent He's business card now, you can contact him directly."

"Mentioning your name should help, right?"

Zhuang Hongyi asked, half-jokingly.

Hsiao Ho's willingness to continue participating in "The Thief 3" was purely due to Zhuang Hongyi's foresight in signing a series of guest appearance contracts with Hsiao Ho in advance. Later, in the second installment, he voluntarily upgraded to a permanent contract. Hsiao Ho was also quite generous, as he was still willing to act even though the supporting role was still a supporting role, and even went abroad with the crew again.

But it's different for Shu Han. A friendly cameo is fine, just a favor. But if it's a formal appearance, it's not as easy as Xiao He's verbal agreement.

Xiao He naturally wouldn't make any promises or help Shu Han make a decision under these circumstances, so he jokingly added, "...I'm not sure about that, but Director Zhuang, you have to promise me that if Brother Shu really goes, you have to give him a good role, and it would be best if he could suffer a lot too."

The Phantom Thief series is ultimately a comedy, filled with nonsensical and hilarious plots. Even the hacker character has earned the nickname "the transvestite who isn't a man" and has been tricked by the main characters. If Shu Han is invited to join the crew this time, then Shu Han must also suffer misfortune along with him.

"Okay, I will convey your wish to them verbatim."

Zhuang Hongyi answered.

"...Whatever."

Xiao He knew that Director Zhuang was joking, so he wasn't angry. After chatting for a while, he hung up the phone.

Soon, Shu Han and the others also learned of this news.

"As expected of Director Zhuang, you're still busy with 'Long,' but you're already calling to reserve a role in advance." Liu Rulan crossed her arms and said with a sigh, "Speaking of which, shouldn't the final season of 'Yu Ye' be on the schedule by now? I feel like it's been a long time, hasn't Director Zhuang mentioned it?"

After all, the Phantom Thief series is only a little over a year apart, but because the first and second seasons of "Sumiya" were filmed together, it has been a long time since then. The original manga also ended a long time ago, so why haven't we heard about any sequels yet?

Xiao He said, "Judging from Director Zhuang's words, it should be within the next few months. He has already asked Yan Shaohan to start preparations, and the script will also be sent to my email. We will probably start filming as soon as everyone's schedules are aligned."

The story of "Sumiya" is ensemble-style and has made many people famous. Looking back now, it can be called one of the "peak" TV drama adaptations of manga by film critics.

However, this also means that many actors during this period have reached a very different level of fame.

For example, there's Guo Xinya, the female lead who experienced a career resurgence; Yuan Sitong, who later proved herself with "The Legend of Chasing the Wind"; and Xiao He, who won the Best Actor award for his role as Song Chenye.

Many longtime drama fans joked that only Zhuang Hongyi had the financial resources and ability to reunite this group of people.

Therefore, it's normal for the third season to be delayed for several years.

“That’s true. The original cast is still very important.” He Wenming nodded. “The ‘Otoya’ IP is already in its final season. Its commercial value is bound to reach its peak. If we can’t get the original cast together, then it’s better not to start filming. It’s a good thing for the integrity of the IP.”

Xiao He then looked at Shu Han: "So, Brother Shu, are you interested in 'Phantom Thief 3'?"

"I don't have any specific plans yet, but the details will depend on the situation," Shu Han said hesitantly. "It mainly depends on what role Director Zhuang wants to give me."

“Then let Manager He find out the details. Don’t worry about my connections,” Xiao He said. “Anyway, Director Zhuang still has a ‘Top Thief Ranking’ that hasn’t been fully revealed yet. I seriously suspect that if he wanted to, he could pull off a whole list of top thieves.”

He ranks third on the list of top thieves, with the second and first place above him, and if Zhuang Hongyi wanted to, he could rank 108th below him.

—And you know what, given Zhuang Hongyi's track record, he might end up making several parts for the main story, and maybe even more spin-offs and stories about individual characters.

They might even create a TV series later, just like in Hollywood, linking movies and TV series together to expand the world setting...

Ahem, of course, this is just speculation at the moment, after all, they don't know what Zhuang Hongyi is thinking.

"Okay, I'll talk to Director Zhuang about it."

He Wenming nodded.

While Xiao He and the others were talking about these things, Xiao Chen, who was not far away, was also making exaggerated winks and gestures at Liu Rulan.

"Sister Liu, Sister Liu—"

He simultaneously gestured towards Xiao He with his mouth, his eyes full of implication.

Liu Rulan looked over, then immediately understood and nodded to Xiao Chen.

Xiao He seemed to sense something, turned around and glanced back, but saw nothing.

"What's wrong?"

Liu Rulan inquired.

"Uh—it's nothing."

Xiao He thought he might have misread it, so he shook his head and turned back.