The Taiwanese media reported that while Painted Skin 3 <畫皮3> will be filmed, it may be impossible to retain the original cast. Vicki Zhao (赵薇), Zhou Xun (周迅), and Chen Kun (陈坤), reportedly had a fall out, and the producers had no choice but to drop Zhou Xun and replace her with The Stolen Years <被偷走的那五年> star, Bai Baihe (白百何). The first two installments of Painted Skin revolved around the fox demon Xiaowei, who has the ability to peel off human skin and wear it as her own. Zhou Xun portrayed the fox spirit Xiaowei, the role that skyrocketed Zhou Xun to international fame. Though both Vicki Zhao and Zhou Xun were confirmed in an earlier report saying that they would reprise their iconic roles in Painted Skin 3, it was said that Vicki Zhao and Zhou Xun refused to work with each other again, leading the producers to make the decision to drop Zhou Xun from the project. The producers decided to keep Vicki Zhao due to her popularity, as her directorial debut, So Young <致我们终将逝去的青春>, performed extremely well in the Chinese box office this year. Chen Kun, Vicki Zhao’s longtime friend and university classmate, reportedly chose to support Zhou Xun and is considering leaving the Painted Skin 3 cast as well. This was no surprise, as it was said that Vicki Zhao and Chen Kun already had disagreements when they were shooting 2008’s Painted Skin. It was reported that Huang Xiaoming (黄晓明) is being considered to replace Chen Kun. Xiaoming neither confirmed nor denied the reports, and responded through his manager, “There is nothing much to reveal at this stage.” Creds: 21CN
