Trivia of the Guardians: An Interview with Yuen Woo-Ping on Blades of the Guardians

As part of the marketing campaign for Blades of the Guardians, which hit theatres on 17^th February (check out our review!), we were given an opportunity to sit down with director Yuen Woo-Ping to talk about the production.

As most will be able to guess, we’re big fans of Yuen Woo-Ping here at cityonfire, so ideally would have liked to have been locked in a room together for 24 hours to go through a considerable list of questions covering his 60+ years in the film industry – but, it was of course still an honour to connect with a living legend who’s delivered so many genre defining classics over the years.

His latest marks both a return to the wuxia genre and a return to form for Yuen Woo-Ping the director, and we were eager to know more about the background that led to Blades of the Guardians, so without further ado, please check out our conversation below.

“Blades of the Guardians” Poster

Paul Bramhall: Master Yuen Woo-Ping, Blades of the Guardians reunites you with Wu Jing in the capacity of director and star for the first time since his debut in 1996’s The Tai Chi Boxer. How did your reunion come about after 30 years?

Yuen Woo-Ping: Actually Wu Jing asked me to direct the action on his segment of 2021’s My Country, My Parents (the third instalment of China’s National Day Celebration trilogy), and it was around that same time I also started reading the graphic novels of Blades of the Guardians. I found the world the story takes place in to be one that’s very rich, so I was inspired to adapt the story into a feature film. The truth is I’m always working on something, and sometimes those ideas can develop into a film, sometimes they don’t.

I brought the idea up with Wu Jing, and after some discussion he agreed to do the film together, so in the case of Blades of the Guardians it was lucky enough to become a film. Doing a wuxia film again was probably a little startling for Wu Jing, as even though that was how audiences first came to know him, the genre has been quiet in the last few years. This was a risky project to take on.

Wu Jing in Blades of the Guardians.

PB: Of course Blades of the Guardians also offers up the first chance to see Jet Li in an action scene for more than 10 years. How did Jet Li come onboard the production?

YWP: In the film Jet Li plays Governor Chang, who in the graphic novels is a particularly formidable character, so I needed the actor who plays him to reflect that formidable presence next to Wu Jing, and to be someone who’s physically more imposing.  When you look at the martial arts actors today that didn’t leave many choices, so I thought Jet Li was the best fit because he could pull off the character, and I felt like seeing Jet in a wuxia film would be fun for fans of the genre.

Jet Li in Blades of the Guardians.

PB: It’s great to see so many legends of the wuxia genre onscreen together, was there anyone who you wanted to bring onboard the production, but the timing didn’t work out?

YWP: In the spirit of wuxia, we put a lot of faith in fate. Some roles are meant for the actors that end up playing them, and the same can be said with directors and their films. I think fate brought this cast and crew together, and sometimes it’s hard to force its hand. The most exciting part of this film was working with the young generation of actors who did so well and will carry the torch of wuxia in the future.

Yu Shi in Blades of the Guardians.

Despite not being classically trained martial artists, the young actors in our film did exceptionally well in their scenes, especially Yu Shi, Ci Sha, Chen Li Jun, and Wen Jun-Hui. If we want wuxia films in the future, we will need more actors who can take on the genre!

PB: It seems the genre has to work within tighter timeframes in this era than you had in its heyday. I’m curious how long it took to film Blades of the Guardians?

Yuen Woo-Ping, May Lo Mei-Mei and Donnie Yen in Mismatched Couples.

YWP: Yes the biggest challenge was probably the race against time. We had so many extras, so many big sequences, but a limited budget and time. There was no room for error. Ultimately, we finished the film in exactly 116 days, not a single day more.

PB: An impressive achievement. Martial arts action cinema has certainly changed a lot over the last 50 years. What is one thing that you believe has gotten easier with the technological advancements, and one thing that you miss?

YWP: I don’t know if it has gotten easier. I think with all the advancements, creativity has gotten harder because there is so much you can do, so it’s difficult to stay grounded. Back when I first started directing in Hong Kong in the 80’s, many of the ideas we came up with were because we had very limited resources and time. I think audiences can feel those limitations, and as a result of them they enjoy the creativity even more. Now with VFX, audiences have seen everything, so it’s actually doing things practically that’s become the most impressive thing to see from an audience perspective.

Yuen Woo Ping directing his father, Yuen Siu-Tien and Jackie Chan in Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow.

PB: Speaking of your time in the industry, many people look up to you as a legend of the kung-fu genre – be it as a director or a fight choreographer.  Who are some of the people you’ve looked up to during your own career?

YWP: Firstly it would be my father, Yuen Siu Tin, who trained my siblings and I in kung fu. He created the role of action director in Hong Kong, and it was while working with him as a stuntman that I learned the artistry of choreographed fighting. Secondly it would be Bruce Lee, who brought Hong Kong action cinema to the world. I look at my experience of going to work in Hollywood as a direct result of the road Bruce Lee paved.

PB: I really enjoyed your cameo which plays over the end credits where we see you dressed as Sam Seed, the character your father famously played in Drunken Master and Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow (and many others!). Was it your idea to pay homage to him through cameoing as his most recognised character?

Yuen Woo-Ping, Zhang Xinyan and Wushu Coach Wu Bin (sifu of Jet Li , Donnie Yen and Wu Jing) in Blades of the Guardians.

YWP: Actually I would never volunteer to act because I am very camera shy, however in this case director Zhang Xinyan (who helmed Jet Li’s 1982 debut Shaolin Temple) and Jet Li’s sifu Wu Bin (the first head coach of the Beijing Wushu Team) were visiting the set that week, and we thought it would be a fun easter egg to have all of us together in a scene. Playing the character my father made famous made it extra memorable.

With Laurence Fishburne, Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss on the set of The Matrix.

PB: Speaking of Drunken Master, that was the production that popularised the kung-fu comedy, while with The Matrix you popularised kung-fu in Hollywood action movies. What is your hope for what Blades of the Guardians will bring to audiences across the world?

YWP: Drunken Master and The Matrix were both sleeper hits, and we could never have imagined they would have been so well received, so similarly how well Blades of the Guardians will do I cannot guess. But I hope for audiences this film can remind them that going to the cinema to watch films on the big screen with friends is an irreplaceable experience. Wuxia is a genre unique to China, and I hope we see wuxia films thrive for years to come.

PB: Master Yuen Woo-Ping thank you for your time. Last, but by no means least – can we expect further instalments of Blades of the Guardians, and what can we expect next from Yuen Woo-Ping?

YWP: You’re welcome. We spent four years preparing and making Blades of the Guardians, so for me the next thing is to take a week off before I think about anything else!