Leo Wu Lei, Carina Lau Kar-ling lead fantasy film Asura

A poster of actress Carina Lau Kar-ling in her portrayal of the titular three-headed demi-god in an upcoming fantasy movie "Asura," which is due out on Friday, July 13, 2018. [Photo: China Plus]

Chinese fantasy adventure film "Asura," which features Oscar-winning costume and set designers, will hit theatres on Friday.

Up-and-coming Chinese actor Leo Wu Lei plays one of the lead roles.

At the premiere in Beijing, he recalled the hardships he encountered shooting a scene with actress Zhang Yishang, who plays his love interest.

"In one scene, we had to chase and battle against each other between narrow cliffs. We had done a lot of preparations for that. Between the cliffs is just a narrow space, which confined us to move in a nimble way. For that scene, parkour masters were brought in to design our movements and also gave us a lot of training."

Hong Kong veterans Carina Lau, Tony Leung Ka Fai, along with Wu Lei – together play the same role as the titular three-headed demi-god.

American actor Matthew Knowles also plays a role in the new film.

Based on Buddhist mythology, "Asura" is believed to be the most expensive production ever in China at a cost of around 100 million US dollars.

The directorial debut of Chinese filmmaker Zhang Peng, who began working as a Hollywood stunt coordinator, the film features an international cast and a veteran Hollywood production team, despite being a Chinese-language film.