Now THAT’S what I’m talkin’ ’bout.

I wasn’t too keen on the first stills we saw from the action/fusion sageuk Warrior Baek Dong-soo — and based on comments, you weren’t either — but I held out hope that the drama would prove itself to be dynamic and entertaining. And while I can’t judge based on a photo, I’m relieved that the next set of stills, pictured here, are much more interesting. (I think that’s always the danger in releasing the initial photos from a poster shoot, without the effects or the backgrounds inserted — because it just looks incomplete and empty, which is what it is.)

These new shots capture the gist of the drama: Two young men face off in a fierce battle, both in a metaphorical sense (one’s good, one’s less so) and a literal one (they’re both skilled swordsmen). Yoo Seung-ho, at top, is the dark and mysterious one in his first villain’s role, which is a big change for him since he’s earned the nickname Korea’s Little Brother after playing lots of likable characters, many of them future kings. (Seriously, the boy’s all of 17 and he’s been a king at least three times — Legend, King and I, Queen Seon-deok.)

Ji Chang-wook plays the hero Baek Dong-soo in what I think may be his breakthrough role, if all goes well. He’s already been the lead in a highly rated drama, Smile, Dong-hae, but that was a daily drama — having a hit miniseries would take him to the next level in his career.

The producing team should inspire a little confidence as well. PD Lee Hyun-jik has been a bit hit or miss but I think he did a solid job directing OB-GYN and Tazza. But I’m more interested in co-PD Kim Hong-sun, who’s done some strong work on cable with Medical Gibang, Mystery Detective Jung Yak-yong, and the dark Yacha. Those were all sageuk dramas, but all with a fusion bent and a decidedly stylistic flair.

The writer, Kwon Soon-kyu, appears to be a first-time drama scriptwriter but has a number of internet novels to his name; he was also a grand prize winner in the first SBSi internet novel writing contest in 2004.

Warrior Baek Dong-soo, based on a manhwa, will be a Monday-Tuesday drama on SBS, and premieres July 4. Which, by the way, happens to also be the premiere for the spy-action romance Myung-wol the Spy. Aie! And we thought May was bad. The problem is, those May dramas all eventually end…and a new batch start up the insanity all over again. I need to figure out how to operate without sleep, and fast.

Via TV Report

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