One of the more interesting, and equally troubling, stories from 2018 was the disappearance and eventual re-emergence of Chinese actress Fan Bingbing. After reports claiming the actress was being held against her will by the Chinese government after tax evasion claims, no one could locate Fan. Official reports denied knowledge of any situations, while many fans worried that perhaps the actress was kidnapped…or worse. Now, after being back in the public eye, Fan is apparently ready to move on and is scheduled to join the upcoming film “355.”
Variety is reporting that Fan Bingbing is set to join her castmates in the star-studded female-led spy thriller, “355.” Last year, it was revealed that Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, and Fan Bingbing were all cast as spies in the upcoming thriller from writer-director Simon Kinberg. The film had so much buzz that Universal and Chinese company Huayi paid tens of millions of dollars for distribution rights for the film. However, everything was thrown into question when Fan went missing.
After weeks away from the public eye, the actress re-emerged last year and paid over $100 million in back taxes after she was charged with tax evasion, based on the publicly known loophole contract that Chinese stars sign that allows them to make more money. The reason for these secretive contracts is because the Chinese government’s communist regime has been cracking down on the power and influence of celebrities by taking a closer look at these contracts, in an attempt to assert their authority.
Because of Fan’s current standing in China, which many believe is now tarnished by her controversy, Huayi has reportedly pulled out of the production of “355” and will no longer distribute the film in China.
“We are no longer involved with this project,” a Huayi spokesman said.
What this means for the film is still undetermined. Obviously, the film is moving forward with the cast and crew assembled, but will its international box office be greatly affected by the controversy? We’ll just have to wait and see. It’s unclear when the film will be released, with either a late-2020 or early-2021 release likely.