Matt Damon battles monsters in the new Great Wall trailer

Matt Damon in The Great Wall

by James White |
Published on

We've had one trailer for Zhang Yimou's epic new action film The Great Wall already. Now here comes the latest, as premiered by Yimou, star Matt Damon and some of the rest of the cast at the New York Comic-Con.

The Great Wall finds Damon as a man in the 15th century who comes to China ostensibly on a trading mission, but is quickly accused of being a thief. He discovers the true purpose of the Great Wall – it's been designed as the last resort against a terrifying supernatural presence, and everyone will be needed to hold the line.

So despite his hosts' distrust, Damon's character – pretty handy with a bow and other weapons – agrees to help out. Speaking at the Con, Damon addressed concerns raised by the original teaser that the movie features the trope of the white saviour coming in to help the native people. "If people see this movie and there is somehow whitewashing involved in a creature feature that we made up then I will listen to that with my whole heart," Damon said. “I will think about that and try to learn from that. I will be surprised if people see this movie and have that reaction. I will be genuinely shocked. It’s a perspective that as a progressive person I really do agree with and try to listen to and be sensitive to, but ultimately I think you are undermining your own credibility when you attack something without seeing it. You have to educate yourself about what it is before making your attack or your argument and then it’s easier to listen to from my side."

The likes of Pedro Pascal, Jing Tian, Willem Dafoe and Andy Lau are in the cast for The Great Wall, which will hit the UK on 24 February.

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