An Introduction to Novoland: Eagle Flag

Liu Hao Ran has finally, finally wrapped up filming for Novoland: Eagle Flag! It's been an incredibly long and difficult journey for the entire cast and crew (288 days!!!) but it's finally done!

In celebration of the completion of filming, we are doing a deep, deep dive into everything Novoland (apologies in advance for the sheer length of this post) - from the background of the creation of the Novoland Universe, to the original novels, to the pre-production and casting process, to the story itself, the characters, thoughts of netizens and books fans, and what to expect moving forward.

I actually read the original novels a long time ago so if I get anything wrong or remember something incorrectly please let me know - this will be considerably more focused on the drama production overall though. Also, because this is a Liu Hao Ran blog, there is a natural focus on him, but we do get into a lot more than just him.

Because of how lengthy this post is, it's best viewed on a computer.

WARNING: I tried to keep spoilers to a minimum but if you're the type who doesn't like reading anything even semi-spoilerish, don't proceed! 

The Novoland Universe

First things first: what exactly is the Novoland (九州) universe?

In the early 2000s, when the Chinese web novel community was just starting, there was a call upon budding web novelists to create an epic fantasy universe in the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire (The Game of Thrones) series, except with more Eastern/Chinese influences. Up to that point, the fantasy genre was one that was rarely explored in Chinese literature (not counting xian xia), so it was a project that received a lot of attention in the emerging online community. 

A total of seven principal authors eventually signed on for the ambitious task. Two of the novelists were already quite well known for their sci-fi novels, and Jin He Zai had emerged as a prominent web novelist. They chose the name "Novoland" for the world that they would end up creating because one of the authors, Jiang Nan, was working on a book then that he had tentatively named Novoland (this would later become the first of the Novoland: Eagle Flag books). The other authors liked the name and collectively agreed that this would be the name of their fantasy universe. 

Novoland, as defined by its creators, consists of three continents (Northern, Eastern, and Western) and nine provinces (九州 can be literally translated to nine provinces). The map shown below is actually a revamped one that Jiang Nan created for the purposes of the drama and is probably not recognized as canon by the other authors, but it gives you an idea of what the basic geography of the universe looks like. Novoland: Eagle Flag will mostly feature the Northern Continent (up top), which is where main protagonist Lv Gui Chen's tribe resides, and is constantly in conflict due to a lack of natural resources; and the Eastern Continent (on the bottom right), which is prosperous due to a great wealth of resources.

There are six major races in the Novoland universe. If you've seen Tribes and Empires: Storms of Prophecy, the drama actually features several of the races (spirits!), but in Novoland: Eagle Flag, you'll mostly see humans, though Song Zu Er's Yu Ran is from the Winged Tribe, as is her "grandfather", who has a pretty important role in the story as well. 

After setting the parameters of the universe, the seven authors all set out and wrote their own books or short stories within the confines of the Novoland world. Collectively, the stories ended up spanning about sixteen to twenty dynasties and were all vastly different in content and style. Among the many published works, it is Jiang Nan's Novoland: Eagle Flag series that has been the most well received by both critics and fans. Jin He Zai's Tribes and Empires and Wings of Wind, while not quite as popular as the Eagle Flag series, were also well received. 

Around 2005, Jiang Nan and Jin He Zai, along with some of the other authors, officially launched the Novoland magazines, which serialized several of their works, including the early parts of Eagle Flag. They also set up their own company, which oversaw the publication of the magazines and managed the licensing of the works. 

However, as the Novoland universe gained a huge following of fans and was the center of heavy discussion by avid readers, Jiang Nan and Jin He Zai started disagreeing on many of the decisions surrounding their co-created world. Eventually, around 2009, the group fell apart and was officially dissolved. Jin He Zai and several of the other authors ended up forming their own company, the Novoland International Cultural Communication Ltd., which would be the main production company for the Tribes and Empires drama. Jiang Nan focused on another series (Dragon Raja) and also established his own company, Linlong Media. 

Jin He Zai and Jiang Nan's disagreements have been so famous that even those who haven't read the Novoland novels know about their rivalry. They still constantly make subtle jabs at one another - especially from Jiang Nan's side, since he has a very active Weibo and essentially has no filter when he speaks.

What are the other Novoland drama/film adaptations and are they related to Eagle Flag?

The most famous Novoland adaptation is 2017's Tribes and Empires: A Storm of Prophecy, which is based on Jin He Zai's novel of the same name. The drama received a lot of attention at the time of filming because it had an impressive cast (Huang Xuan, Shawn Dou, and Zhou Yi Wei were the three leads with other notable names playing supporting characters) and an immense budget. However, the drama was rumored to have encountered budget management issues (the production team did not have a lot of experience in that area) and had trouble selling its final cut to broadcasters. As a result, the drama ended up taking a one book novel and making it into a 75 episode series - which severely impacted the pacing and storytelling. Still, the drama is considered to be an accomplishment in terms of its sheer scale. 

Even C-netizens get confused about this, but Tribes and Empires is not in any way related to Eagle Flag. Firstly, the production companies - not to mention the cast and crew - are completely different, and the stories have no references to one another. The only link between the two is that both stories are set in the Novoland universe - so you'll recognize some of the geographical names and tribes. 

Zhang Ruo Yun and Guan Xiao Tong's 2016 drama Novoland: The Castle in the Sky is also unrelated. It's actually an original story that was inspired by one of the Novoland short stories and is mostly fixated around the human and Winged Tribed races. (Actor Chen Ruo Xuan, who is in Eagle Flag as Ji Ye, did have a supporting role in The Castle in the Sky). Darren Wang and Crystal Zhang Tian Ai's 2017 film Legend of the Naga Pearls is also an original story that features the Winged Tribe. Both leaned more towards the idol xianxia genre than the fantasy epic that the original Novoland books (and the drama adaptation of Eagle Flag) aspired to be. 

Jin He Zai's novel Wings of Wind has also been set for a drama adaptation, with highly acclaimed drama director Zhang Li (The Road We Have Taken, Martial Universe) set to direct. However, it's unknown if this project is still going to get the green light after what happened with Tribes and Empires (Wings of Wind would be produced by the same company and it's been rumored that they lost a lot of money). Also, Zhang Li has been announced to be the director of the upcoming historical epic Cao Cao, which will mark Chinese superstar actor/director Jiang Wen's return to dramaland, so it's unclear if he'll still be willing to take on this project (because that will mean he would have directed three period dramas straight).

Jiang Nan and the Original Series

Like many of the internet novelists from the early 2000s, Jiang Nan was actually pursuing a career in academia before he changed careers. He's a graduate of the prestigious Peking University and was going to graduate school at the University of Washington at St. Louis in the US when he started to write. 

While Novoland: Eagle Flag is considered to be his signature work, he also has another highly successful series under his belt - the Dragon Raja series, which is not set in the Novoland Universe. Jiang Nan's not what I would call a polished writer by any means (stylistically) - which is something he has said himself, but where he wins out as a writer is imagination, an ability to get your blood pumping as you see the heroic deeds of his characters unfold, well developed characters, and an innate understanding of human nature. It's been said by some fans that the Dragon Raja series (which I have not read) shows a much improved writing style, but lacks the same youthful enthusiasm that Eagle Flag had. 

There are six books in total for the Novoland: Eagle Flag series, but as mentioned earlier, parts of the books were first serialized via the Novoland magazines. Many readers are under the impression that Eagle Flag has two main characters in Ji Ye and Lv Gui Chen. But if you read the complete published version of the books, Ji Ye doesn't even appear in books one and six. I saw someone refute this again yesterday with a really good answer - Ji Ye is more central to the Novoland story in general because of his impact, but Lv Gui Chen is definitely more of the lead for Eagle Flag. 

Here's the thing - the story of Novoland: Eagle Flag isn't quite complete. While it has a beginning, middle, and an epilogue of sorts, there is no climax. We know Lv Gui Chen and Ji Ye become leaders of their respective countries (I don't think this constitutes as a spoiler), but we're not quite told how they fully got there. So book fans were initially quite hopeful that the drama adaptation will help fill some of those plot holes and will encourage Jiang Nan to write another book to finish up the series.

There were several drafts that were leaked years ago where he does kind of write about what happened with Lv Gui Chen and Ji Ye between where Eagle Flag effectively ends and the epilogue, but he said later that those are not canon and that he had destroyed those stories. Jiang Nan announced in May 2018 that in his eyes, the series is officially done.

Production Team

The costume design team spent 30 days to make the accessories themselves, and the costumes took 20 days to produce - with embroidering by hand. There were a total of 2,000+ suits of armor produced. 

The company that's producing Novoland: Eagle Flag is Linmon Pictures (though Jiang Nan's Linlong Media, along with some other companies, also have a stake in the production), which caused some backlash among book fans as most of their dramas have been lacking in quality. However, it's important to note that there's a big difference here between the production company and the production team. Companies like Daylight Entertainment use the same team (different directors, same crew) for their dramas, but Linmon dramas usually field their own production teams - who are, for the most part, not actually employed by Linmon. 

That's why there's quite a difference in quality between the well received modern dramas To Be A Better Man and A Love for Separation and idol period dramas Chronicle of Life and Fighter of Destiny, despite the fact that all four are projects headed by Linmon Pictures. Veteran A-list actors Sun Hong Lei (To Be A Better Man) and Huang Lei (A Love for Separation) were said to have brought some of their own trusted staff to help with the production. So theoretically, as long as the drama itself has a reliable production team, the quality shouldn't suffer even if it's produced by Linmon. For the record, Linmon is also the company behind Yang Mi's The Legend of Fuyao.

At least on the surface, Novoland: Eagle Flag boasts an excellent team. 

The director of the drama is Zhang Xiao Bo, who is the director of the aforementioned To Be A Better Man, which was nominated for a Magnolia Award for Best Television Series at the Shanghai Television Festival in 2016. He comes from a background in cinematography, but has spent the last few years directing modern urban dramas. Novoland: Eagle Flag will be his very first attempt at directing a period drama, which is slightly worrying given that this is a large scale production. However, Zhang Xiao Bo is said to be a fan of the original series, and spent quite a long time preparing for this drama (he started working on it as soon as he wrapped up filming for To Be A Better Man in April 2015), so I'm hoping that this is a Peter Jackson and The Lord of the Rings situation. The producer is Zhang Wei Wei, who was also on the To Be A Better Man team. 

If you've seen some of the BTS/promotional videos and pictures thus far, you'll most likely have noticed two things. One, the powerful, cinematic score. Two, the beautiful and detailed costumes. The two people who are in charge of these two respective areas both hail from Hong Kong and are at the top of their fields - eight time Hong Kong Film Award winner for best score Peter Kam and the Academy Award nominated Yee Chung Man (for costume design on the Zhang Yi Mou film Curse of the Golden Flower).

            

Art director Sun Li also comes from a background in film and has worked as the art director in films like Zhang Yi Mou's Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, Feng Xiao Gang's Back to 1942, and Peter Chan's Dragon (I've seen two out of the three films and the art direction is fantastic).

As you can imagine, since this is a fantasy epic, good CGI work will be needed, and instead of outsourcing the work, Linmon is taking the opportunity to flex the muscles of its own internal special effects department, which was formed in 2016. Han Lei, who was an employee of Rhythm and Hues Studios and Dreamworks Animation (he was on the teams for Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar), is the head of Linmon's special effects department. At Linmon's annual showcase to investors in March 2018, the following title opening sequence was revealed. 

            

The casting director that Eagle Flag used is also the same person who Daylight Entertainment usually employs for their dramas - including Nirvana in Fire 2.

One of the most impressive parts of Daylight Entertainment's production of Nirvana in Fire 2 was the attention to details, in terms of establishing the etiquette of the time, the tea traditions, and costume detailing. It seems like the production team for Novoland: Eagle Flag is going a similiar route. The video below shows a combination of etiquette and weapon/costume detailing (and showcases Linmon's CG work). 

 

But for a drama like this, where money isn't an issue and the rest of the production team and cast are incredibly reliable, the biggest worry has been the scriptwriting team. The author of the original series, Jiang Nan, is the head scriptwriter, though according to himself it sounds like he mostly oversaw the process and was not involved with the details. When the production team was first announced, it was said that Chang Jiang (The Advisors Alliance, The Secret of the Three Kingdoms) would be the main writer, but recent rumors have indicated that the production team didn't like the draft that she had submitted and may have demoted her (or lessened her involvement). It's not known if this is true, but what we do know is that the script wasn't written by one or even two people.

Jiang Nan said that they had a full team who went through heavy discussions of the story before they started writing. Aside from Jiang Nan and Chang Jiang, one of the scriptwriters who worked on highly acclaimed TVB drama Line Walker also had an important role, and Linmon staff confirmed on an online forum that they also had some young writers of their own who were involved in the process.

If you've seen either of Chang Jiang's two works, let us know what you think of her writing! I saw part of The Advisors Alliance, but not enough to pass judgement. Fans have said that her dramas always start out well but get draggy in the second half.

In total, there were more than 3,458 members of the cast and crew. 

The exact budget for this drama is not known - I keep seeing different numbers and Chinese dramas are notoriously not reliable when it comes to this kind of stuff - but there's no doubt that this is a production team that has a lot of money. However, according to Jiang Nan, only 30% of that is going to the impressive cast (SARFT, or whatever they're called now, has a new regulation in place that the pay of actors must not exceed 40% of a drama or film's total budget). This theoretically should mean that they have plenty of money to spend on ensuring the quality of the production itself. 

Pre-Production/Casting Process

As early as 2015, when Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy was filming, it was rumored that plans for the drama adaptation of Novoland: Eagle Flag were underway. In the second half of 2016, Linmon Productions officially announced its intentions to film the drama adaptation, much to the trepidation of book fans.

In an attempt to ease the fears of book fans and to show their sincerity, on July 29, 2016, Linmon Productions held a discussion forum with book fans in Shanghai. Though director Zhang Xiao Bo was not able to attend the forum in person, producer Zhang Wei Wei was present, and Zhang Xiao Bo called in via video conference. Linmon Productions disclosed that they've been preparing for the drama adaptation for two years before the forum (so since 2014). 

What everyone was most concerned with, of course, was the casting, and that's where it got interesting. As early as April 2017, it was rumored that Liu Hao Ran and Song Zu Er had been tapped to star (though it wasn't clear which role Liu Hao Ran would be taking - at the time, many thought it might be Ji Ye as Linmon did not specifically state which character the drama adaptation would be centered around). 

However, filming was slated to start in August 2017, and Liu Hao Ran was going to be in New York filming for Detective Chinatown 2, so most assumed that the drama was going to have to look elsewhere for its lead. Most of the drama's impressive supporting cast was named by June of 2017 by the usual "insider" accounts on Weibo. Song Zu Er was confirmed as the female lead in October, and the highly controversial decision of casting Chen Ruo Xuan as Ji Ye was essentially cemented later that month. But as the months passed, and filming was pushed back to September, then to October, it became clear that the production team was either having trouble landing a male lead - or they were waiting for someone's schedule to open up.

What was unusual about this was that in an industry where a project's casting rumors constantly change, Liu Hao Ran was the only name attached to project as the lead from April to November 2017, but nobody could say confidently that he was taking the project. When the booting ceremony took place on November 2, 2017, only Chen Ruo Xuan and Song Zu Er were in attendance, and it set off a wave of concerns among book fans that the production team may have casted a complete rookie lead. In the eleventh hour (early November), there were a flurry of rumors that Liu Hao Ran had officially turned down the project as he had missed so much of school already and needed to head back to the Central Academy of Drama. 

And then the following video dropped on November 8, 2017. 

             

The Story

Here is the drama synopsis - credit to the translation on MyDramalist.

Lv Gui Chen is the heir of the nomadic Qingyang tribe, and is sent to the Eastern Land as hostage. He meets Ji Ye, an unfavoured illegitimate son who is training to become a warrior, and Yu Ran, the princess of the Winged tribe. The three become close friends, and the boys’ feelings for Yu Ran soon turn romantic.  At the same time, powerful warlord Ying Wu Yi has been maintaining a firm control over the Emperor, giving him unprecedented power over the nobles. Lv Gui Chen, Ji Ye, and Yu Ran decide to join the decisive battle against Ying Wu Yi at Shangyang Pass, but unbeknownst to them, an even darker conspiracy is yet to unfold.

This is a story about heroes - young ones who are trying to find their place in the world; weary, older ones who are trying to remember what they're fighting for; and the cynical, middle aged ones who are sick of all the destruction that they've seen and are determined to solve it their way. Everyone has something that they're fighting for - their loved ones, their past, their future, or maybe they simply just want to prove themselves. 

The first book follows the childhood of Lv Gui Chen, who is the heir of the Qingyang tribe and is the youngest of five boys. He is a sickly little boy, but is the named heir because according to Qingyang tradition, it's the youngest who inherits the "throne". However, due to his extremely weak health, no one in the tribe, including his four older brothers, expects Lv Gui Chen to live to adulthood, and he is just an afterthought as the brothers engage in a power struggle. He has a lonely existence as a child - his mother lost her mind after giving birth to him and his father, as the chief, has his hands full in trying to maintain peace and stability within the different tribes. The only time that he feels the love of a family is when he is put with a foster mother who loves him like he's her own.

However, due to circumstances out of Lv Gui Chen's control, he experiences several childhood tragedies that leaves him determined to get stronger so that he can protect those that he loves. In his preteens, he's sent to the Eastern Land as a hostage of sorts (those who have read or seen Princess Agents - Yan Xun's hostage storyline was allegedly taken from this part of Novoland: Eagle Flag). He's not a hostage in the sense that he is thrown into prison until a ransom is paid - he's still the heir of the Qingyang tribe, after all, so he studies with the royal princes and is treated well. The Eastern Land is also where he encounters Ji Ye and Yu Ran, who become his best friends and the most important people in his life. 

However, the story doesn't belong to just Lv Gui Chen, Yu Ran, and Ji Ye. The third and fourth books of the series are centered around the central players in the power struggle of the Eastern Land (the three kids are merely participants - or pawns - at this stage). The events that take place in those books - including the battle of Shangyang Pass - play a massive role in shaping the destinies of the three youngsters (especially Lv Gui Chen and Ji Ye). 

Want to state this here: the relationship among the three youngsters isn't a love triangle, or at least I don't interpret it as one, because their feelings start to blossom when they're merely teenagers, but nothing ever comes of it. Life goes on. 

For anyone who's read The Lord of the Rings trilogy or seen the films, Novoland: Eagle Flag definitely isn't quite on that level of complexity and attention to detail, but what is similar is that they both serve the purpose of chronicling historical events within the constraints of their respective fictional worlds. A specific set of characters is used to help tell that story and to get you emotionally invested, but the overall message is a lot bigger than the fates of individual characters. 

We've been asked a lot if the original Eagle Flag series has a happy ending for Lv Gui Chen. Not sure if this counts as a spoiler - but I'm not sure if there's really such a thing as a happy ending for a character who's seen so much war, so much death, and who has what feels like the weight of the world on his shoulders. But that doesn't quite count as a sad ending either. Because in the grand scheme of things, Lv Gui Chen's story is just a drop in the bucket in the ten thousand+ years history of Novoland.

How will the storyline in the drama differ from the original series?

In an interview that was released in May 2018, Jiang Nan said that while he greatly admires the Game of Thrones' scriptwriters to take several story threads and put them all together in a coherent way, he currently does not believe he has that ability. As a result, he chose to focus on one central storyline - Lv Gui Chen - for the drama adaptation. 

Two problems with that though: In the book, at the Battle of Shangyang Pass and in other key scenes, Lv Gui Chen is either not present or has a very small role. Also, he's only about thirteen or fourteen years old during those scenes. 

So the scriptwriters decided to give Lv Gui Chen and Ji Ye a much more prominent role in the scenes where it was the older generals who took center stage. They also raised the ages of the trio to their late teens/early twenties to make the story a bit more logical. The parts of the child actors will also be kept to a minimum (in the series, Lv Gui Chen is a child for most of book one and a preteen for book 2) - as you can see in the BTS video below, the part where Liu Hao Ran has bangs will essentially be him playing his "younger" self. A child actor will still be used, but will not appear for long. 

               

           

It is also speculated - due to fantaken pics - that Lv Gui Chen got some of Ji Ye's scenes (there was a picture of Liu Hao Ran in a scene with Zhang Feng Yi - the two's characters have no interaction at all in the original series. Ji Ye was the one who had scenes with Ying Wu Yi). 

Also wanted to touch on the romance part here since that gets brought up a lot - romance, or at least the cute, shippable kind, will be kept at a minimum here (actually, I don't know if there will be any cute romances - I feel like even if there's any it'll be of the bittersweet kind). I do expect to see more of it than we did in the books, because according to the rules of dramaland, you can't have young, pretty people without at least a little bit of romance. However, I don't think that the screenwriters will change anything drastically - meaning that Lv Gui Chen and Yu Ran will not be a loveline. 

As for the ending - at the book fan meeting back in 2016, the production team said it would probably be open ended, so prepare yourselves! 

Most have agreed that the changes had to be made in order for the drama to be coherent and appeal to the audience, but there are a lot of book fans who are unhappy as the changes indicate that fan favorites like the generals and the other older characters (and even Ji Ye) will have a reduced role in the drama.

I keep seeing the phrase "铁甲依然在 tie jia yi ran zai" - what does it mean?

It's both a battle cry and a promise - one that appears often in the original book and is now used as a slogan to unite book fans. The literal translation would be something like "The armor is still here!", and what it represents is an oath to never back down, to continue to fight and protect what is precious. 

On the book fans' front, it's their promise to stay dedicated fans to Novoland, that no matter how many years pass, they'll still remember and treasure the books and the tales of the heroes that they document. 

Cast & Characters

One of the biggest selling points of this drama is the incredible supporting cast. Jiang Nan bragged in an interview that the cast features eleven actors/actresses who would be leads in other dramas - and he's not really wrong. 

More and more dramas are implementing the trend of surrounding younger leads with a well known veteran supporting cast (Joy of Life, Ever Night), but Novoland: Eagle Flag's supporting cast is still pretty unique because it's literally composed of an all star cast, not just talented, veteran actors as we've seen in other productions. 

In particular, there are three veteran actors (Zhang Zhi Jian, Xu Qing, and Zhang Feng Yi) who usually would not take on this kind of drama - in fact, according to the production team, all three turned down Eagle Flag at first, but changed their minds after understanding more about the story. Please let this mean the script is awesome!

Note that there are also three pretty well known actors who were originally slated to make guest appearances but seemed to have schedule conflicts: Lei Jia Yin (originally rumored to play Lv Gui Chen's oldest brother), Li Yi Tong (originally rumored to play Su Ma - so disappointed that this didn't work out), and Dong Jie (rumored to play Lv Gui Chen's foster mother - she might actually still be in it but there's just been no official word). 

Putting a warning here again - if you don't like even minor spoilers - don't keep reading! The next part will be a breakdown of the major characters and the actors who are playing them.

Liu Hao Ran as Lv Gui Chen

Lv Gui Chen is the main protagonist of Eagle Flag, and as as mentioned earlier is the heir of the Qingyang tribe. He is weak as a child and overlooked by his family and members of his tribe, but never resents anyone and has a quiet, gentle nature. A series of events that occur in his childhood cause Lv Gui Chen to discover a strength inside himself that he didn't know he had, and he realizes that in order to protect those that he loves, he has to become stronger. 

There's this misconception that gentleness and being physically weak are the defining character traits of Lv Gui Chen, but the truth is that he's probably more hardheaded than anyone when he feels as if his loved ones are being threatened. (And in terms of being weak, he's actually one of the most powerful - in terms of fighting ability - characters.) Because that's what really drives him - a desire to be able to end the death and destruction that he's been witness to for so long and to live in peace with the important people in his life. 

By the way - you'll probably have noticed that Liu Hao Ran's had two hairstyles in the drama stills that we've seen. When he has his hair down, it means that he's back in the Northern Land with the nomadic tribes. When his hair is up, it signifies that he's in the Eastern Land, during his time there as a "hostage". 

This is what Liu Hao Ran said about Lv Gui Chen in an interview, "It seems as if everyone except Lv Gui Chen has a motive, but is there really nothing that he wants? The truth is that what he wants is bigger than the desires of anyone. He wants a utopia - a world without massacres." 

He also posted this on Weibo after the first character posters were unveiled, "He (Lv Gui Chen) is a warm and kind person. He will never forget the kindness that others have shown him. He does not like war or conflict, but will do whatever it takes for those that he loves. He is Lv Gui Chen. I understand everything that he wants to protect." It's worth noting that Liu Hao Ran is a fan of the books himself and thus has a deeper understanding of the character and story than most. 

This role is quite different from any of Hao Ran's other roles thus far - though again, it's an age-appropriate role that will show the coming age story of a youth. Lv Gui Chen is subdued and gentle, and much of his emotional state and inner conflicts are expressed internally, so this will require Hao Ran to tap into a new level of acting. There are a lot of people who weren't sure of Hao Ran taking this role because we are used to seeing him in a much more confident, "alpha" role like Yu Huai or Xiao Ping Jing, so this will be a great opportunity for him to test himself. 

Also, judging from everything we've seen thus far - the trailers, posters, marketing, and everything else - this is Liu Hao Ran's time to shine. It was originally thought that this would be an ensemble cast, where everyone will get their own storyline, but all signs seem to indicate that the drama is going all in on making this Lv Gui Chen's story.

Jiang Nan himself recommended Liu Hao Ran for the role of Lv Gui Chen after seeing his performance in Detective Chinatown in 2016, and said at a recent fanmeet that out of all casting decisions, the entire team has been most pleased by Liu Hao Ran's casting. Liu Hao Ran, for his part, revealed in a recent interview with Men's Uno that he had actually hesitated in taking this role as he had wanted a bit of a break after filming four projects straight, but decided to take it due to the nostalgia that he holds for the books. 

When Linmon casted him for the role in 2017, he only had three works under his belt: Detective Chinatown, Beijing Love Story, and With You, but had a stash of mainstream projects that would come out one after another before Eagle Flag finished filming. Many have speculated that Linmon was counting on at least one of those works to launch him to another level of stardom - and they ended up winning that bet. 

The truth is, Liu Hao Ran doesn't have a lot riding on this project in comparison to the other young leads. All he needs to do is put in a good performance and hope that the drama has decent reviews (he's averaging a 8.65 out of 10 right now on Douban between With You and NiF2, which is crazy). This is because Liu Hao Ran has Detective Chinatown 3 in 2020, which gives him an unreal buffer for the next year and a half. Ultimately, Liu Hao Ran will be judged by his success in film because that is his main stage. 

His biggest challenge now is to let himself unwind from the past eight/nine months of filming and promotions and prepare himself for his next role (no, we don't know what that is yet). 

Lareina Song Zu Er as Yu Ran

Yu Ran is the only girl in the trio of friends, and is a member of the Yu Zu (Winged Tribe - yes, she can fly). She is highly spirited, curious, and mischevious (girl has street smarts in spades), and is the main instigator for many of the misadventures that the three embark on. It's not hard to figure out why both Ji Ye and Lv Gui Chen are both drawn to her - she brings a light into their lives that neither of them have ever had. 

Jiang Nan has said before that he's a big fan of Jin Yong/Louis Cha's wuxia novels, and I can definitely see traces of The Legend of the Condor Heroes' Huang Rong in the character of Yu Ran. 

In the grand scheme of things though, Yu Ran doesn't play an integral part in the story. In fact, she doesn't appear in at least half of the books (mentioned, perhaps, but not involved in the events that are taking place). Yu Ran also isn't your typical heroine because she has no loveline with the hero (not saying that heroines need a love interest, just that it's how c-dramas usually work). The drama will for sure increase Yu Ran's scenes, but it's not known to what extent, because by all accounts actress Song Zu Er hasn't spent nearly as long on set as the two guys have. 

Of note here - Yu Ran actually has golden hair and blue (I think it's blue) eyes in the original novels, but Jiang Nan made a point of saying that they will not give her a wig and circle lenses for the drama as it would look too odd. 

Song Zu Er is a former child actress who is most known for her portrayal as the child-like deity Nezha in the 2007 drama adaptation of The Lotus Lantern, but unlike other child actors, she made the decision to leave C-ent for a while (six years) and moved to the US to study. She was introduced to audiences when she appeared on the travel variety show Divas Hit the Road Season 3 in April 2017. When she was announced as the female lead for three dramas in quick succession later that year (The Dark Lord, Eagle Flag, and the King's Avatar), it became clear that even though she was basically a rookie, she had access to better resources than most actresses her age. 

Novoland; Eagle Flag probably means more to Song Zu Er than anyone else, including Chen Ruo Xuan, because while she's considered to be one of the more well known post-95 actresses, it's mostly due to her looks and the fact that her company (Star Media, home to Wu Xiu Bo and Crystal Zhang Tian Ai) is really good at its job. She doesn't have a single acting project as a lead to her name as an adult yet, and stepping down from The King's Avatar means that Eagle Flag will be the only project she has through next year (The Dark Lord has just aired as a webdrama). It's a hefty gamble for a somewhat prominent rising young actress, and it indicates that she and her team are counting on Eagle Flag to be a project that will look good on her resume. 

As for her acting skills, because she hasn't had a leading role as a young adult yet, we don't really have any idea of what she's capable of (from what I've read about her performance in the currently airing The Dark Lord, you can't tell very much because all that is required of her is to act cute). But in her child actress days, she was praised for being expressive and natural. This also shouldn't be too difficult of a role for Zu Er, as her real life personality is a bit similar to Yu Ran's (bubbly and bright). 

Chen Ruo Xuan as Ji Ye

If you took a poll on who everyone's favorite character is from Eagle Flag, Ji Ye would probably win, especially among female readers. He's the illegitimate son of a nobleman and has scrapped his way through life. A loner by nature, he is driven by a relentless need to prove himself - even if he dies trying - because he feels as if he's been looked down upon for his entire life. He has an inferiority complex that no amount of success can ever really chase away. 

He channels his anger and frustration over the lot he's been given in life into fighting and becomes an extremely accomplished warrior. Fear is not a word in his vocabulary, but the truth is that what he really craves for is to be loved, so the time that he gets to spend with Yu Ran and Lv Gui Chen are some of the most precious moments of his life. He is not a particularly empathetic person, and can be pretty cold and ruthless at times. 

In the book, Ji Ye is described as tall and built - which is one of the biggest reasons why the casting decision of Chen Ruo Xuan as Ji Ye was absolutely blasted by book fans. Chen Ruo Xuan was criticized as being too chubby (he was carrying quite a bit of baby fat then - he's gone on a diet since landing the role), too short (mostly because the production team went with a 185cm Lv Gui Chen, which isn't exactly the picture that Jiang Nan had painted in the books), and not "alpha" enough. 

Here's the difficulty with the casting of Ji Ye though - because the production team had decided they were going to go with one core thread and one clear lead (Lv Gui Chen), it meant that they were a lot more concerned about getting that casting decision right. Although many book fans had wanted either Liu Hao Ran or Wu Lei as Ji Ye, it would have never been possible because both, at least for this kind of drama, would only consider roles where they would be the male lead.

However, once you do decide to go with Liu Hao Ran as the male lead, you suddenly don't have a lot of options for the role of Ji Ye. It's not Hao Ran's fault, but because of his age and lack of seniority in the industry, you simply wouldn't be able to persuade someone more well known to take on the supporting role of Ji Ye (rumor has it that Jiang Jinfu was approached for the role but turned it down). You also can't go with someone who is completely unknown and unproven either as it's still a pretty important role. 

94'er Chen Ruo Xuan has been the lead of a couple of Hunan TV idol period dramas and some webdramas, but his performance in this role might get him more attention and popularity than any of his previous projects because of the scale of this production. As book fans have said, the character of Ji Ye is so appealing that whoever plays him would probably blow up in popularity. That's why this is a pretty crucial project for Chen Ruo Xuan - even if it doesn't have high ratings, the attention it'll garner might be enough to really change his career.

Northern Land

Dong Yong as Lv Song

Lv Song is the Chief of the Qingyang tribe and the father of five sons, including Lv Gui Chen. He has a heavy burden on his shoulders, as the tribes are constantly fighting over resources, and he has the internal power struggle among his sons to deal with as well, so he doesn't really get to spend a lot of time with his youngest. 

However, despite the fact that his heir is weak and not of much help, Lv Song loves his youngest son in his own way and is protective of him. Lv Song and Lv Gui Chen have a much different father-son dynamic than Ting Sheng and Ping Jing had in Nirvana in Fire 2, but their scenes are also going to be emotionally gut wrenching.

Dong Yong, who I will remember forever because of the 2002 drama Black Hole, is guest starring in this role (I cannot believe he is old enough to play a twenty year old's father now). He was in director Zhang Xiao Bo's To Be A Better Man.

Li Ye as Lv Shou Yu

Lv Gui Chen has four older brothers, but there are only two that play a significant role in the story. Lv Shou Yu is the oldest brother, and is probably the kindest to Lv Gui Chen (though that's not saying much). He, along with the third brother Lv Ying Yang, are at the core of the tribe's power struggle. 

Lv Shou Yu shouldn't have that many scenes, but the production team landed an awesome actor for the part. Li Ye is a stage actor who is a member of the prestigious National Theatre of China (in China, stage acting is seen as the highest level of performance, and the National Theatre will only take the best of the best).

When his casting was announced, book fans were excited given his reputation, but noted that he looked a little old for the part. Li Ye was hilarious in his replies and lamented that he really isn't that old (born in 1976). 

This was the role that Lei Jia Yin was rumored for.

Eric Yang Le as Lv Ying Yang

Lv Ying Yang is the third brother. He is someone who is highly ambitious and is at the heart of the power struggle with older brother Lv Shou Yu. You could say that this is a slightly antagonistic role, but the world of Novoland: Eagle Flag isn't black and white, and the character is fairly three dimensional.

This could be a breakout role for Yang Le, who is what the Chinese call a "second generation star", as he's the son of well known veteran stage/film/drama actor Yang Li Xin. Despite being the son of a celebrity, C-netz tend to be pretty civil towards him because he is a graduate of Duke University (majoring in theater performance) and there's nothing that ingratiates you more to the Chinese public than a degree from an elite school. 

Yang Le was the male lead in Bai Jing Ting's debut drama, Back in Time, and has mostly acted in campus/young adult webdramas. I think this has the potential to be a really interesting role for him, because it's a much darker and layered role than his usual fare, which will allow him to show more of his acting abilities.

Lv Gui Chen's four older brothers

Lu Yan Qi as Su Ma (no official pic yet)

Su Ma isn't a central character, per say, but she's probably one of the most memorable ones. She is the childhood friend of Lv Gui Chen and is described as being beautiful, but was born mute. Su Ma harbors what is mostly a one-sided love for Lv Gui Chen, and is unable to go with him when he's sent away as a hostage to the Eastern Land. 

There's not much on '92er Lu Yan Qi - she had small supporting roles in The Advisors Alliance and Zhao Li Ying's upcoming The Story of Minglan.

Li Yi Tong (2017 Legend of the Condor Heroes) was supposed to guest in this role, but schedules apparently did not work out. I'm disappointed because I think she would've been great as Su Ma and I would've loved to see her scenes with Hao Ran. 

Eastern Land

Zhang Zhi Jian as Lei Bi Cheng

I'm a little confused how big a role Lei Bi Cheng, who orchestrates much of the chaos that occurs among the countries, is going to have in the drama, because I don't remember him having that many scenes in the original story, but Zhang Zhi Jian was pretty much on set for the entire 8 months. 

Veteran actor Zhang Zhi Jian has been around for decades, but his performance in 2017's megahit drama In the Name of the People shot him to mini-stardom as he was highly praised for his performance. However, he also belongs to an older generation of actors who haven't been fond of the way the industry has been trending in recent years, and openly declared in early 2017 that he would never act with a "little fresh meat", because he simply couldn't deal in scenes with them (implying lack of acting skills) and would rather turn down the project. 

Clearly, he either changed his mind or doesn't consider Liu Hao Ran to be a little fresh meat, haha. 

Li Guang Jie as Xi Yan 

Aside from our trio of youngsters, Xi Yan and Bai Yi are the two characters that I most look forward to being brought to life, and I think the casting was spot on for both characters. 

Li Guang Jie isn't quite as well known as his bffs Guo Jing Fei (Pu Yang Yin in Nirvana in Fire 2) and Lei Jia Yin (The First Half of My Life), but he is also considered to be a reliable, talented actor. From the drama stills that have been released thus far, he seems to be absolutely perfect for this role, as he's fully captured the cynical, mysterious vibe of the always smiling Xi Yan. 

Xi Yan is a fan favorite, and plays an incredibly important role in the story. He is one of the Four Great Generals of the Eastern Land, and thus is one of the leaders in the Battle at Shangyang Pass. He is also the mentor and teacher to Ji Ye and (kinda) Lv Gui Chen as he is an incredibly gifted fighter and strategist, and gives them the skills they need in order to become the warriors and leaders they're destined to be. He is the one who brings the two teenagers (they were maybe twelve or thirteen in the original story) to the battlefield. 

He is not an easy person to read, even to those who know him best, and is always hiding his secret agendas and thoughts behind a smiling, easygoing facade. He likes to dress in black, which is in direct contrast to his longtime friend Bai Yi.

Ken Chang as Bai Yi

Bai Yi is another one of the Four Great Generals, and is a master of military strategy. Unlike Xi Yan, Bai Yi likes to dress in white, and has more of a loner vibe, as he's a bit cold and melancholy. He has known Xi Yan for more than two decades, and the two share an incredibly interesting friendship. 

I can't remember if he is ever described to be handsome in the book series, but that was one requirement that book fans were insistent on when it came to the casting choice for Bai Yi. Interestingly enough, it was only in the last month that the official Weibo announced that Ken Chang (Eternal Love) would be playing the part (he had already been filming for months). Book fans were ecstatic about the casting choice.

Ken Chang is more known for his roles in period idol dramas and is considered to be one of the original "pretty boy" actors, but the passing of time looks good on him. His Bai Yi has a weariness and melancholy to him that matches the original series' characterization to a tee.

The two generals - Xi Yan on left, Bai Yi on right

Zhang Feng Yi as Ying Wu Yi

Ying Wu Yi is a powerful warlord who is incredibly accomplished and intelligent, with a ruthless, arrogant, cold personality (though he has a soft spot for his daughter). He is responsible for starting the Battle of Shangyang Pass (kind of) and is a fascinating character because while he can be incredibly cruel, he also has such a magnetic presence and is a hero in his own right.

Calling Zhang Feng Yi just a veteran actor doesn't seem quite right - he was one of the leads for Chen Kaige's critically acclaimed films Farewell My Concubine and The Emperor and the Assassin. Although he wasn't ever a superstar, he can be considered a household name and is incredibly well respected within the industry.

Zhang Feng Yi was invited to guest star as Ying Wu Yi because in a fanmade video years ago, it was his clips that were used for that character. Eagle Flag's production team had seen the video and thought it was perfect, so they asked if he would be able to make a special appearance. He is going to be so, so awesome in this role.

I really hope someone gets an interview with him when this airs and asks him about Liu Hao Ran. They were both casted for reality show Takes A Real Man back in 2015 and were often paired together for training. I'm positive that there is no way Zhang Feng Yi could've imagined that a mere three years later he would participate in a drama where the male lead was the scrawny teenager that he knew then - which also once again puts it into perspective how fast Hao Ran has risen in the industry. 

Xu Qing as Grand Princess Bai

Actress Xu Qing has had a long and successful career and has won accolades for both her film and television performances. She's also one of my mom's favorite actresses, which is why I know that in recent years, she's cut back on acting quite a bit as she's discovered a love for international travel. Which was why it was rather surprising that she agreed to appear in this drama (especially not in a guest star capacity). 

I think this role will be really interesting for her - it has a bit of an antagonistic bent, and more importantly, it's about a woman who is finding her youth drifting away from her, and thrives on manipulation and has a thirst for power. Xu Qing has the ability to inject a vulnerability to the character that will earn our sympathy and I'm looking forward to her portrayal. 

From what we saw of her in the first trailer, I'm pumped - she looks amazing in the role as the regal, powerful Grand Princess. 

Zhang Jia Yi as Baili Jinghong

Baili Jinghong is a noble, a ruler who is ambitious and thirsty for power, though he isn't always smart about his approach. The character is considerably less popular than some of the others on this list, but Zhang Jia Yi may change that for the drama. 

Who is Zhang Jia Yi? Let's put it this way - there were ten dramas in total nominated for the Magnolia Award for Best Television Series at the 2018 Shanghai Television Festival. Zhang Jia Yi was the male lead for four of those. He is pretty much one of the (non-idol) dramaland kings these days. I expect his scenes to be pretty minimal, but his name alone will draw interest (which is the whole point of having him take a guest role). 

And even though he was in the trailer for about 2 seconds, he's already shown his magnetic presence as a veteran star. 

Maggie Jiang as Gong Yu Yi

Gong Yu Yi is an original character written just for the drama, so not a lot to get into there. I'm not entirely sure, but I think she's supposed to be a political advisor? 

It's pretty easy to see why Maggie Jiang, who is highly sought right now as a leading lady, agreed to participate in this drama. She was the female lead of director Zhang Xiao Bo's To Be A Better Man and her management agency is a subsidiary of Linmon Productions (it's also probably why she stepped in for The King's Avatar, also a Linmon project, when they basically rehauled the production). 

This is actually a great opportunity for Maggie because this is her very first period drama role. Not everyone suits period dramas, and this gives her a chance to test out the genre without a full time/effort investment. Since we don't know anything about her character, what I can say is that she's looked stunning in all the fantaken pics and stills released thus far. 

Angel Wang Ou as Su Shun Qin

Out of all the female characters in this drama, Su Shun Qin will be my favorite if it's done right. Her story is probably the most complex - and the most heart wrenching - among the women. She is described to have the appearance of a young woman in her late teens, but in reality has gone though so much ugliness in her life. She has a star-crossed lovers relationship with Xi Yan and their story absolutely killed me when I was reading the books. She also has a really sweet kind-of-friendship with Lv Gui Chen and I really hope they keep some of those scenes in. 

Jiang Nan hinted that he was going to give more screen time to Su Shun Qin and Xi Yan in the drama so I am super, super excited. 

I have full confidence in Angel Wang's ability to pull off this role as it's actually kind of a blend of her characters in The Disguiser and Nirvana in Fire, except even more tragic. The only thing I will say is that I have not liked the hairstyle that they've given her. 

Amy Chen Hao Yu as Xiao Zhou

Xiao Zhou is a child that Lv Gui Chen rescues, and has a pretty important place in the story because she has a very unique background. However, none of that matters because they're changing the entire character for the drama. 

This has probably been the most controversial (known) decision that the drama has made thus far. The scriptwriters have raised Xiao Zhou's age by ten years (she was about ten in the books) - most likely because they need a loveline for Lv Gui Chen and Yu Ran won't work because it would totally change the dynamic of the trio. 

So in other words, we'll just have to treat this as new character written just for the drama, because it pretty much is one. I'm pretty disappointed by this decision because I loved Xiao Zhou and her ability to bring out the different sides of some of the characters. But hey, you never know - this might be a change that will work in the drama's favor.

As for Amy Chen, she's a '92er who started out as a singer. She hasn't acted very much, but does have a role in the upcoming Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, which will most likely be her breakout role if it's successful (sooo many actresses are counting on that drama to be their career changer, and she's one of them - SARFT has been incredibly tough lately on historicals). 

Filming Process 

Filming for the drama officially commenced November 2, 2017 in Xiangyang, Hubei province, and took 288 days to film. 

Most of the scenes that will take place in the Eastern Continent - where Lv Gui Chen is held as a hostage of sorts - were filmed in the Xiangyang Tang City that was built and funded by director Chen Kaige for the film The Legend of the Demon Cat. If you've been following Liu Hao Ran's airport pics this year, you'd have noticed that he's been popping in and out of the Wuhan airport - it's the closest one to Xiangyang.

For those who've watched a lot of Chinese historicals, you probably know about Hengdian World Studios, which is located in Zhejiang province and is the largest film studio in the world. Xiangshan Studios, also located in Zhejiang province, is where Nirvana in Fire 2 did most of its filming, and is also a prominent film studio. But the Xiangyang Tang City is relatively new - as mentioned earlier, it was built for the sole purpose of fulfilling Chen Kaige's vision of what the capital of the Tang Dynasty would've looked like. Because of how expensive it was to create, he decided to convert it into a film studio for other dramas and films after he was done with it. 

The reason why the Novoland: Eagle Flag crew chose to use Xiangyang instead of some of the other more known and established film studios is because they thought that the Tang Dynasty elements of Xiangyang would be a good match for the flourishing cities of the Eastern Continent. The other reason is that Xiangyang, being newer, is less accessible to tourists and passerbys, and the staff have been doing their utmost to keep much of the filming process under wraps. 

Unlike the days of yore when large scale battles and beautiful scenery had to be added in digitally in post production, large scale dramas like this one now have the money to be able to film more and more on site. Hence, a large part of the drama's budget was set aside for filming in Xinjiang and planning started as early as late 2016 in preparation for filming there. 

In mid February, right before Chinese New Year's, the cast and crew started the migration to freezing cold Xinjiang to begin preparation for the filming of the scenes that would take place in the Northern Continent as well as many of the battle scenes. Though Jiang Nan had originally wanted to have part of the filming done in Scotland, the production team discovered that they were able to film everything they needed for that portion of the story in Xinjiang, as it's a vast land with several different types of terrains. Also, I'm sure they realized how expensive that endeavor would be.

The move of equipment, cast, and crew from Xiangyang, Wuhan to Xinjiang was officially completed on March 6, 2018, which the production team documented with the following video. 

             

Because they needed to capture the snowy mountains and the winter elements of Xinjiang, the schedule was quite tight and filming often went deep into the night. Because many of the scenes would take place on the snow covered grasslands and in the snowy mountains, the sets were not accessible by car - instead, the production team and cast had to walk through the deep snow every day. They were in such a remote area that Liu Hao Ran fans who drove to the general vicinity couldn't locate the filming site. This is also the reason why Liu Hao Ran had to pass on Season 2 of variety show Give Me Five - he was quite far from the nearest airport and the production team needed to finish shooting before the snow melted. 

At the end of March, the production team left the harsh winter conditions of Shawan County, to the possibly harsher conditions of Kuqa County, which is largely a desert region. In winter, it is extremely cold, dry, and windy. The photographers who were hired to take the drama stills said on their Weibo that they've never had to work in such difficult conditions - but the isolated beauty of the desert made everything worth it. The production team also experienced a two day sandstorm while there. Most of the battle scenes - including the battle of Shangyang Pass - were filmed there as it gave the production team a large, barren area to work with.

It is said that there were about twenty filming sites overall in Xinjiang, including Aksu City and the beautiful cliffs of Dushanzi. The majority of the team headed back to Xiangyang in early April (including the three main leads), and the team that remained in Xinjiang officially wrapped up filming later that month. The remainder of the filming has been done in Hubei province, including in Enshi City, which is a city surrounded by lush mountainous scenery, and Shennongjia. 

As a way to celebrate the end of filming, Novoland has officially released its very first trailer.  Although you don't get that much of the storyline out of this, it introduces some of the most important characters, and is another indication that this drama is centered around Lv Gui Chen and his rise as a hero. Personal thoughts are that the veteran actors are going to rock their roles (Zhang Jia Yi, Zhang Feng Yi, and Xu Qing are amazing) - and that we really haven't seen very much of Ji Ye and Yu Ran at all from the production team. Clearly, the selling points of this drama to investors/broadcasters are going to be the veteran stars + the male lead.

As for what C-netz think, pretty much the universal response has been, "Don't use dubbed voices for the drama! These actors are all excellent at line delivery!"

Read more our compilation of netizen comments on the trailer here.

C-Netz/Book Fans Reactions 

How do book fans feel about the drama adaptation?

General rule of thumb: people never like it when there are drama or film adaptations of their favorite novels. However, Novoland: Eagle Flag book fans can be described, in general, as more apprehensive than anything else. 

The content of the first book was published more than a decade ago, so most book fans read the series during their teenage years. Most are adults now and see the world a bit differently than they would've had a decade ago. They understand that if they want more from Jiang Nan and the Novoland universe, this drama has to be successful (if not ratings-wise, then at least in terms of reviews). This drama is essentially seen as Novoland's last chance - not just Jiang Nan's part, but the franchise as a whole - to prove it has commercial value to the film/drama industry. 

As a result, the logical book fans have been the ones who have been leaving messages under Jiang Nan's Weibo in the past year, urging him to change the story if he needs to. They understand that if the drama was filmed in exact accordance to the books, it will flop terribly. Points that they have been reiterating: focus on one central story line and forget about the other threads. Make the story's tone more uplifting and inspirational - no one wants to watch the protagonist struggle and fail, time and time again. Don't use child actors for too long.

In general, the casting has been well received as well (Ji Ye aside). There are many book fans who don't think Liu Hao Ran quite fits the character of Lv Gui Chen, but almost everyone has acknowledged that as long as Hao Ran puts in a good performance they won't be too fussed with that. (Definitely a situation where LHR's reputation precedes him - when he was rumored to be casted, the general consensus was, "Well, he's not quite how I pictured Lv Gui Chen - but at least he can act."). Xu Qing and Zhang Feng Yi have been the most well received casting decisions - even more so with the reveal of the trailer. 

Of course, there's always going to be the book fans who hate the idea of the adaptation and some of the changes that have been announced (mostly in reference to the age increase of Xiao Zhou and giving a prominent role to Lv Gui Chen - and Ji Ye - for the Battle of Shangyang Pass). 

What do C-netz think of the adaptation? 

In a nutshell: they're not optimistic in terms of ratings/popularity. It's not a reflection on the production team or the cast though; it's more about the state of dramaland right now. Drama ratings have been pretty low across the board this year, but serious period dramas specifically are really struggling to reach the TV audience. 

Novoland: Eagle Flag probably won't have the same issues with SARFT as some other historicals will, because the story is not based on real history, but I still expect that SARFT will end up cutting out a lot of scenes (the original story gets a bit dark at times and I'm not sure if it'll pass the censorship board). 

In addition, because of low drama ratings, it's been difficult for period dramas to find buyers among the first tier satellite channels - especially those in the fantasy genre. There were only three period dramas that made it onto the primetime slots of the first tier satellite channels for the first half of 2018 - Nirvana in Fire 2, Untouchable Lovers, and The Legend of Fuyao.

It's very clear at this point the amount of money that you spend on a drama ≠ success, and frankly netizens are at the point where the more money a production team has, the more worried they tend to get about the final product.

All of the above are the reasons why C-netz in general do not think this drama will fare well (there's also the shadow of what happened with Tribes and Empires hanging over this drama despite having entirely different production companies - people hear Novoland and they think it's linked.).

What do C-netz think of Liu Hao Ran's decision to take on the project? 

It's interesting how much has changed since Liu Hao Ran first signed up for this project. When the casting was first announced in November 2017, C-netz were like, "Wow, his resources are so good." 

Fast forward to less than ten months later, you'll see at least one post a week on the major entertainment forums from non-fans that says, "Why did Liu Hao Ran take this drama? It's taking up so much of his time and it might end up just being a webdrama." It's a testament to both how fast the dramaland market has changed (it's been one flop after another for the big hyped up dramas) and how fast Liu Hao Ran's reputation has grown (The Legend of the Demon Cat, Nirvana in Fire 2, and Detective Chinatown 2 all came out after he was casted for Eagle Flag). 

The main reason why non-fans are miffed that Novoland: Eagle Flag has taken so much time is because everyone wants to see what kind of film/drama resources Liu Hao Ran can get now, ha. There are a lot of netizens who are very interested in his career path because it's a pretty unique one.

How many episodes will there be? Will there be a Season 2?

There is a bit of conflicting information here. The Chinese document filed with SARFT has the drama slotted at 55 episodes, but an English article released by Variety said that the drama will have 70 40-minute episodes. However, I haven't been able to find a single Chinese article confirming this. Not saying the Variety article contains false information, just that there isn't a second source yet. Douban also has this drama listed at 40 episodes, so basically there isn't an answer to this question yet.

My two cents - I think it's pretty much impossible for dramas to determine how many episodes they're going to have before they even get into post-production. If I remember correctly, Tribes and Empires was originally put at 40 episodes, and then 50, and it ended up being 70 because they needed the money as they had allegedly gone over budget (more episodes=more money=slow paced storyline). So for now, let's not worry about how many episodes there will be. Once we get closer to the "selling" phase of post-production, we should have a better idea. 

(Edit: 12.7.18 - In a new November 2018 filing with NRTA (formerly SARFT), Novoland Eagle Flag has officially changed its episode count to 69.) 

The Variety article also mentions that this will only be the first season, and originally my instant reaction was, "There's no way Liu Hao Ran would return to a second season unless this really did become the Chinese Game of Thrones and even then he might not." 

However, I then went back and read the account of the meeting with book fans back in July 2016, and Linmon had mentioned at the time that the Novoland: Eagle Flag adapation would cover all six books. If the drama was well received, they would produce a "Season 2" - but it would essentially be a sequel story with a different set of main characters (though Ji Ye might return). Jiang Nan did start writing a spinoff story a couple of years ago that was slightly related to Eagle Flag, so they would have material for a potential drama if they chose to proceed.

But a Season 2 with Liu Hao Ran in a main role would be highly unlikely. 

When can we expect this to air? 

All we know at this point is that Linmon is shooting for some time in 2019. Post-production will probably take at least six months to complete (update 8/20/18: the CEO of Linmon Pictures said in an interview yesterday that post-production is expected to take another nine months, which will put us right at Summer 2019), and then they'll have the task of trying to sell the drama to a first tier satellite broadcaster (Tribes and Empires was held up for a long time because of this stage). The competition will be fierce next year as there's several period dramas who will be aiming for what amounts to be a handful of primetime TV slots, but if there's one thing Linmon Pictures has proved to be good at, it's selling dramas. 

There is a rumor out there that Hunan TV has tentatively agreed to buy the rights to the drama and will air it Summer 2019, but never trust what you hear about the broadcasting dates until it actually airs. They can literally change their mind in the last second.

In the meantime, we can look forward to trailers/teasers, more BTS clips, and hearing the rumors continue about Liu Hao Ran's next project while he goes on vacation! 

Rest up, Hao Ran!

See you in 2019, Lv Gui Chen! 

Related links:
Novoland (Wikipedia)
Online novel of Novoland: Eagle Flag (in Chinese)
Official Weibo of Novoland: Eagle Flag
MyDramaList page of Novoland: Eagle Flag