To promote Warner Bros' and DC's upcoming superhero film Justice League, all six members of the league - Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Flash (Ezra Miller), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and Superman (Henry Cavill), together with the film's producer Charles Roven - gathered in Beijing for a two-day promotional activity on Thursday and Friday.
While having A-list Hollywood stars travel to China to promote their films by meeting with fans and even speaking some phrases in Chinese is nothing new, it's rare for such a large group of big names to attend a promotional event.
It was a very cold and smoggy day on Thursday, but that did not stop a huge crowd of fans to head by bus or taxi to Beijing's 798 Art District to catch a glimpse of their favorite star.
"I have been a huge fan for Henry Cavill for years and after this year's Wonder Woman, I am really into this female superhero as well," Emily Song, 22, told the Global Times.
"No one except Hollywood can make such exciting superhero films. I do, however, hope to see them tackle some new themes. For example, Wonder Woman felt a bit fresh."
The next DC installment directed by Zac Snyder after 2013's Superman: Man of Steel and 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League continues the story - after the death of Superman, Batman assembles a team of people with super powers to save the world from alien invaders Steppenwolf and his parademons.
"It's very much the same," Roven said when asked what was the difference between making a film about a group of superheroes and other films.
"Because in order to make a film that people want to see, you want to make sure that, first and foremost, you take compelling characters and put them in a situations that people can relate to… in that regard it's very much the same."
While today's Chinese filmgoers, mainly those in their late 20s and early 30s, were first introduced to DC characters such as Superman and Batman from 1990s cartoons and comic books, they've had to wait decades for live action film versions to come to the Chinese mainland.
The first DC superhero film to come to the mainland was Superman Returns in 2006, while the second, The Dark Knight Rises, arrived in 2012. But the live action Spider-Man came as early as 2002, followed by X2: X-Men United in 2003 and Spider-Man 2 in 2004. In total, Marvel characters have appeared in more than a dozen superhero films shown in the mainland, while DC has only had five such films.
Additionally, since only one of those films, Wonder Woman, focused on someone other than Batman and Superman, the concept of a larger DC universe is still vague to most Chinese moviegoers. On the contrary, Marvel characters have the X-Men franchise, the Spider-Man films and the more recent Marvel Cinematic Universe.
However, DC seems determined to turn things around. So far Warner Bros has announced 10 more DC films, of which more than half focus on characters other than Superman and Batman. This year's success of Wonder Woman, the first female superhero-led film from either DC or Marvel, has spurred renewed confidence in the DC Extended Universe.
By bringing all six members of the Justice League to China, DC is clearly capitalizing on the fame of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman to promote the upcoming films for Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg, which are sure to come to the Chinese mainland as well.
Source: Global Times by Wei Xi