Controversial Sino-U.S. co-production The Great Wall, starring Hollywood star Matt Damon and Chinese pop singer Wang Junkai, revealed more of its much debated plot of a "white hero" defending China against monsters in a new trailer at New York Comic Con on Saturday.
The film's director Zhang Yimou also appeared alongside Damon, Wang and some of the film's other stars to talk about the story behind his latest work.
Commenting on the controversy that arose after the film's first trailer released in July, Zhang said that accusations that the film was featuring a typical "white savior" storyline were "pure speculation," as no details about the story have been revealed, according to a report on ent.163.com on Saturday.
Zhang added that Matt Damon plays a foreign mercenary who sneaks into China to steal the secret recipe for gunpowder, which the director described as "a rather dirty goal" and so in his opinion the character does not quite fit into the "hero" mold.
The new trailer featured several action scenes as well as the first glimpses of the unnamed monsters that are attacking the Great Wall in the film.
The film is scheduled to release in the mainland sometime in December and in the U.S. on February 17.
