Chen Kaige's Demon Cat to hit theatres Friday

Chinese actor Huang Xuan (right) and Japanese actor Shota Sometani (left) attend a promotional event ahead of the premiere of "The Legend of the Demon Cat" in Beijing on Sunday, Dec 17, 2017. [Photo: China Plus]

New action film "The Legend of the Demon Cat" by science fiction writer Yumemakura Baku is due to hit Chinese theatres on this coming Friday.

Directed by veteran Chinese director Chen Kaige, the film stars Zhang Rongrong as the Tang Dynasty empress Yang Guifei.

"Being cast as Empress Yang was quite a departure from all of my previous roles. I think it really helped me expand my range as an actor. During the process, the director put me through various challenges. And I eventually started to crave those challenges."

Actress Zhang Yuqi (left) and actor Qin Hao (right) attend a promotional event ahead of the premiere of "The Legend of the Demon Cat" in Beijing on Sunday, Dec 17, 2017. [Photo: China Plus]

The new film also stars actors Huang Xuan, Liu Haoran, Qin Hao, as well as actresses Zhang Yuqi and Zhang Tian'ai.

Japanese actor Shota Sometani, Hiroshi Abe and actress Keiko Matsuzaka are also in the film.