‘The Great Wall’ Release Date, Cast, and Trailer Staring Matt Damon and Hopefully Not Whitewashing

Jul 29, 2016 03:20 PM EDT

Matt Damon brings a lot of money into films, and movies have shown that we will bring him home from Nazi-occupied France (Saving Private Ryan) or Mars (The Martian) if we have to.  The actor is currently promoting his return to the iconic Jason Bourne, but there has been a new trailer for The Great Wall, which shows the man fighting off monsters in China (no kidding).  This is what we know about The Great Wall release date, cast, new trailer, and how this film had better not be an example of whitewashing in Hollywood. 

As you watch the film's trailer, you are probably asking as many questions as me, such as:  What are these monsters that they are fighting?  Assuming that the Chinese did build the Great Wall of China during the Northern Song Dynasty, some 1,000 years ago, to keep these monsters out, how did the construction go?  I mean, did the monsters just sit there and wait for them to build a wall?  It didn't work in Pacific Rim.

I know the question that I am asking, and I'm getting rather nervous.  Considering that this takes place in China, why is Matt Damon the star of this film?  This has been a big issue in Hollywood about "whitewashing" where characters who are supposed to be a different race suddenly become Caucasian.   This has been a big complaint about Marvel's latest adaption with Doctor Strange, as the character of The Ancient One is played by Helen Mirren, who is originally of Tibetan descent in the comic book source material.   

Not only is the American Matt Damon in the film, but so is Willem Dafoe and Pedro Pascal (Chilean).  It is possible that this threat of China is so great that many people from many countries have to join together to beat it. 

As it is, the film is said to be the "biggest movie collaboration between the United States and China", according to Hollywood Reporter.  The film is directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who directed great films that have had American releases, such as Hero and House of Flying Daggers.  The film features famed Chinese actors like Andy Lau, Lu Han, Eddie Peng, and Jing Tian. 

Unfortunately, you are going to wait a few months until the film is released on February 17, 2017.  The producers don't seem to want to answer any questions about what is going on during this trailer, and that is truly for the best.  Honestly, this film is pretty good at being a trailer, and not revealing too much information like other summer blockbusters.  The Great Wall will be released in China two months earlier, but I don't have an exact release date except sometime in December 2016.