Chinese short-drama actor Wang Yilei has recently responded to reports that he abruptly withdrew from a production just before filming was set to begin.
The whole issue sparked after it was reported that upcoming short drama, “Kill That Spring Night” (translated title) was rumoured to have suspended production.
Soon after, the producer responded to questions from netizens, denying the suspension by saying, “The male lead backed out before joining the cast doesn’t mean the project has been cancelled,” indirectly suggesting that Wang Yilei had failed to honour his commitment.
The production team later clarified that the drama had never been cancelled or halted, and expressed gratitude to the lead actress for actively cooperating and helping coordinate schedules. They also thanked the replacement male lead for stepping in at short notice.
In response, on 11 May, Wang Yilei’s team clarified that the two parties have agreed that he will only say yes to a project that has its script completed. They stated that both sides had communicated during pre-production, but any final agreement depended on approval of the completed script before officially signing the contract.
However, the team claimed they still had not received a complete script as filming approaches. After much deliberation, they informed the production team that filming could not proceed immediately under the circumstances and suggested waiting until the script had been further refined.
Unfortunately, both parties were ultimately unable to reach an agreement.
(Photo Source: Wang Yilei Fan account IG)