Interview: Ji Zhao and Zhou Yu Discuss Their Film “New Gods: Yang Jian” and Chinese Punk Culture

Ji Zhao, director of New Gods: Yang Jian and Zhou Yu, founder of Light Chaser Animation and producer of New Gods: Yang Jian, recently sat down in a roundtable interview to discuss their new film, the benefits of animation when telling stories, and what they hope international audiences can learn from watching New Gods: Yang Jian.

Beginning his career as a film editor, Ji Zhao worked on the live-action horror film, Hong hun, in 2014. He then made the switch to animation and worked as an editor until he made his directorial debut in 2019 with the animated film, White Snake. The film is a romantic story about a snake hunter who falls in love with a snake spirit. Ji Zhao discussed the difference between live-action and animated film making. “In my live-action career, I was an editor, and from an editor standpoint, most of the time you have to choose from the footage that you already have. But from an animation perspective, you can create. When you need something, you can just go in and draw to make it. I think that [animation] is more creative and more fun. That’s why I changed my career.”

When asked about any specific inspirations regarding his film career, Ji Zhao relished the opportunity to talk about the films and culture that meant the most to him. “We grew up with a lot of Western movies. All kinds of Hollywood productions or anime from Japan. In Mad Max, we focus on the punks. Punk does not belong to any one culture. The Chinese can have their very own punk, because punk is a spirit, not only a visual style. In New Gods: Yang Jian, our hero is very punk himself, in his heart. We wanted to combine what we learned from the Western culture with our own culture…to create a new generation of a Chinese hero.”

White Snake was well received by critics and audiences alike, earning the Golden Angel Award at the 2019 Chinese American Film Festival. The success of White Snake helped propel Ji Zhao’s career as a director and led him to his next project, New Gods: Nezha Reborn. The film details the adventures of a young deliveryman, Nezha, who encounters old enemies and must rediscover his powers as a Chinese God in order to protect those he loves the most. The movie was the first in the “New Gods” series and allowed Ji Zhao to create his own style similar to steampunk, one that he refers to as silkpunk. “Steampunk is part of the industrialization era. In our films, we’re trying to create a Chinese gods’ world. When you think about gods, they are always more advanced, from the technology, culture…everything. When I tried to create the spirit world, I thought they could be more modern… mixed with more traditional Chinese culture.”

Ji Zhao reflected on his childhood, which shaped the vision that he has today. “When I was a kid, I watched television shows with the old Chinese mythology…they always managed people flying from place to place. Every generation should make [projects] based on their own experience. I think that in our generation, we saw the technology grow very fast. It’s just part of our life. I remember one time I was on an airplane and sat next to the window. And when the plane took off among the clouds, I saw the beautiful cloud ocean. I thought, maybe in ancient times, those gods and spirits saw that as well, sailing among the cloud ocean.”

Zhou Yu, who has produced animated features such as Toys and Pets, The Guardian Brothers, and Cats, shared his interpretation of the look and style of the New Gods series. “Flying through the sky, and through the clouds, it’s all still quite unfamiliar to many Chinese people. In our film, we wanted to focus on what Chinese people knew while adding some surprises. That’s where our creativity came in because we also loved the style, this Oriental Punk.”

While developing the New Gods series, Ji Zhao tapped into a classic Chinese tale while putting his own flair and generational touch on it. “When we created this series, we tried to make something different. This is based on an original ancient story. We were trying to tell our audience in China that this is a totally new version. We used the same characters, and the same heroes…but with a different point-of-view, and a different timeline of the story. We tried something, we took a big risk. A whole new modern tale. New Gods: Yang Jian for me, is inspired by Chinese and Japanese painting styles combined with CGI to incorporate our punk style. Something different.”

Zhou Yu continued with the mythology that inspired the team behind the films. “This story is over 1000 years old, everybody knows this story in China. We used these same heroes, but in a different era because these are gods, they are immortal, they live through different eras.” Zhou pointed out that with each film in this series, the team has gotten stronger and more confident in their abilities to not only make a great film but weave ancient Chinese mythology into a modern tale. He excitedly spoke of the team’s desire to continue the series with another installment within the next few years, after New Gods: Yang Jian.

New Gods: Yang Jian will see a limited theatrical release on January 20th, 2023. The movie follows a crew of bounty hunters, led by Yang Jian, a god who has all but lost his powers after sealing his sister under a mountain years earlier. But when a mysterious woman hires him for a new job, Yang soon finds himself chasing down a familiar figure from his past, which sets him on a dangerous and breathtaking adventure. Ji Zhao shared his excitement about bringing his silkpunk adventure to a wider audience. “With a Chinese audience, they will see a different version of that hero that they already know. From a different point of view. For international audiences, this movie tries to give people the energy…to make people think that family is always around, whether physically or in the spirit world. Their energy is there. Like with our hero, Yang Jian, he never really vocalizes his thoughts. When he looks up at the stars, he remembers something. That is part of the Asian people’s experience. You don’t always talk about your feelings, but maybe convey through small actions.”

Zhou Yu agreed with what theme they were hoping viewers learned from their film. “New Gods: Yang Jian has some similarities with the film, Coco. Your family members…they may have departed, but they didn’t completely die. They are still in your mind, in your thoughts. They will carry you throughout the world. With Yang Jian, his family is always around him. It’s this big love…and I think that is a universal theme. Yang Jian is a hero that we created that is a very unique god from what Chinese people expect. He’s very human. He is a god, but lovable, reliable, and very real. We hope people, no matter where they are, that they can understand. To be touched by these feelings and this story.”

New Gods: Yang Jian is the second film in the New Gods series. It will be released in select theaters on January 20th, 2023.