The conflict has persisted for more than a thousand years between spirits and humans. The dream of overcoming this challenge and living harmoniously together, will this dream ever come true? iQIYI’s production “Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Love in Pavilion aka Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Wang Quan Chapter 涂山小红娘王权篇”, adapted from the popular manhua “Hu Yao Xiao Hong Niang 狐妖小红娘” by Tuo Xiao Xin officially started filming on January 5, 2023.
“Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Wang Quan” is another big-budget fantasy costume romance drama starring Cheng Yi and Li Yitong in the leading roles.
This also marks the second collaboration between Cheng Yi and Li Yitong. Prior to this, the two actors had already worked in the upcoming martial arts drama ‘Hero Legends’ which is one of the highly anticipated costume dramas in 2024.
Through the years, Cheng Yi has established himself as one of the outstanding actors in the industry, often being called the ‘costume male god.’ In his previous projects, we mostly saw him in serious roles. However, this time you can expect to see him in a different light. He won’t just showcase his serious side; you’ll also see his playful and womanizing side too. That’s sound fun, right?
Last year, Cheng Yi had a dark horse project with the ‘Mysterious Lotus Casebook’. Fans are quite confident that he will reign in the industry with his upcoming projects ‘Hero Legends in 2024 and ‘Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Love in Pavilion’ in 2025.
On the other hand, the 33-year-old actress Li Yitong, best known for her performances in ‘Royal Nirvana,’ ‘The Legend Of Condor Heroes,’ ‘Bloody Romance,’ etc., has starred in many dramas in recent years.
In addition to ‘Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Love in Pavilion,’ Li has another major budget project in the upcoming costume drama list; ‘The Legend of Rosy Clouds,’ where she will be sharing the screen with Zeng Shunxi.
Regarding this pair, their chemistry, and the plot, audiences are optimistic about the show and are already showing their love and support.
Furthermore, Comprising various chapters, Fox Spirit Matchmaker’s three live adaptions have been confirmed as of now. The first installment, “Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red Moon Pact,” starring Yang Mi and Gong Jun is confirmed to premiere on May 23, 2024.
Following this “Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Love In Pavillion,” features Liu Shishi and Leon Zhang, which was wrapped up filming in December 2023.
And, Currently in production is “Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Sword And Beloved,” with Cheng Yi and Li Yitong in the lead roles.
Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Sword And Beloved (Plot Introduction)
- Starring: Cheng Yi, Li Yitong
- Episodes: 40
- Original Platform: iQIYI
- Premiere Date: Tentatively 2025
- Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Wang Quan Chapter won the “Most Expected IP Adaptation of the Year” at Yuewen global ip Awards 2024
Plot Summary: “Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Sword And Beloved,” tells the painful love story of Wang Quan Fu Gui (played by Cheng Yi), a cold and handsome legendary Demon slayer with immense abilities and strength, serving as the pillar of the Wang Family.
Despite being a powerful hero, he is confined inside his home as his freedom and happiness are stripped away by his family. Fu Gui only knew that he was born to kill demons and didn’t know why he kept killing.
By chance, Wang Quan Fugui let go of the Spider Spirit Qing Tong (played by Li Yitong). To repay the kindness, Qing Tong enlightens Wang Quan Fugui about the vast, alluring outside world through her beautiful paintings. Qing Tong promises him that she will become his eyes, so he can see everything even if he is forbidden to go out and explore the outside world.
Originally, Qingtong was a spy sent to gather information related to the Wang Family, but after meeting Fu Gui, everything starts to change in her life. Gradually, the two fall in love with each other after experiencing a series of adventures and challenges together, but their huge identity differences make their love full of tests.
After meeting Qingtong, Fu Gui stops killing spirits and demons which leads to severe punishment.
Later, when their relationship is discovered, Fu Gui is asked to kill Qingtong. However, he refuses to do so, and instead, both are pierced by hundreds of swords as punishment, signing a reincarnation contract under the sorrowful love tree and looking forward to their reunion in the next life.
….after Reincarnation
According to Manhua or the original script, after reincarnation, Wangquan Fu Gui is reincarnated as Wang Fu Gui who is a rich playboy and is highly skilled in ‘spirit blade’. He detests spirits in this life.
Qing Tong relentlessly keeps waiting for Fu Gui for hundreds of years. But, he doesn’t have any recollection of his past life. Even if Qing Tong tries to restore his past life memories, except for a few fragments, he doesn’t remember everything.
So, Will Fu Gui be able to break the shackles and reunite with his love in this life? Well, for that you’ll have to wait and watch it for yourself.
Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Sword And Beloved, Adapted From Popular Manhua
Fox Spirit Matchmaker Manhua is very popular among audiences in the domestic market. This popular piece is being adapted into various adaptations including live-action by a major platform with a big budget.
Both fandom; book and drama watchers are optimistic about this and are looking forward to it making these productions highly anticipated.
All the 3 adaptations are adapted from the Chinese manhua “Hu Yao Xiao Hong Niang” (狐妖小红娘) by Tuo Xiao Xin (庹小新). There are more or less 12 Chapters of Fox Spirit Matchmaker. Only 3 of them (Chapter 1, Chapter 2 & Chapter 3) have been adapted into live adaptations. Before this, the manhua was also adapted into a Donhua (animation) version.
All these 3 productions come under three major platforms; Stellar Pictures, Tencent Animations, and iQIYI.
Relationship Between Fox Spirit Matchmaker Live Adaptations
- Fox Spirit Matchmaker 1: (aka Fox Spirit Matchmaker; Red Moon Pact) starring Yang Mi & Gong Jun (completed filming)
- Fox Spirit Matchmaker: 2: (aka Fox Spirit Matchmaker; Love in Pavilion) starring Liu Shishi and Leon Zhang (completed filming)
- Fox Spirit Matchmaker 3: (aka Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Sword and Beloved) starring Cheng Yi & Li Yitong (currently in pre-production)
Each Chapter of Fox Spirit Matchmaker is linked to humans and their relationship with different kinds of spirits. Humans constantly wreak havoc on spirits and attack them.
So, our protagonists’s common goal is to make a world where each individual can live peacefully together without any war, discrimination, or conflicts whether it’s between the human-human space or the human-spirit space.
All these 3 live adaptations of Fox Spirit Matchmaker will be streamed on iQIYI.
Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red Moon Pact
If we were to watch this adaptation timeline order-wise, then Chapter 1 (Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red Moon Pact) should come after Chapter 2 (Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Love in Pavilion). This Chapter will focus on the story of Dongfang Chue Yue who is the cousin of Wangquan Fu Gui ( character portrayed in Chapter 3) and is the nephew of Dongfang Huai Zhu (character portrayed in Chapter 2).
Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red Moon Pact tells the story of Tushan Hong Hong (played by Yang Mi) who is the former Queen of Tushan and is the most powerful Fox Spirit in the spirit world. One day, she saves a human boy named Dongfang Yue Chu (played by Gong Jun) who is being chased by his lifelong enemy.
Dongfang Yue Chu quickly falls in love with his savior. He is playful, likes to play pranks, and does not hesitate to help someone who is in need. Despite his casual nature, he is deeply observant, a planner, intelligent, and a quick thinker.
Later, he discovered that Tushan Hong Hong’s dream was to reunite the human and spirit world, instead of living in a continuous war. Yue Chu joined hands with her and worked together to fulfill her lover’s dream.
However, their dream remained unfulfilled in their first life, so they reincarnated again to make it a reality.
Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Love In Pavillion
This chapter is more like a parent story of Chapter 1 (Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Love in Pavilion) and Chapter 3( Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Sword and Beloved). Chapter 1 is the story of Dongfang Yue Chu who is the friend or cousin of Wangquan Fu Gui. In other words, Dongfang Yue Chu’s mother Dongfang Qin Lan and Wangquan Fu Gui’s mother Dongfang Huai Zhu are siblings. So, it kinda makes it a parent story when it is ordered according to the timeline and characters’ relationship.
Unlike the other two Chapters, both lead characters are from a human family here. Still, they will be dealing with numerous Spirits and demons.
Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Zhu Ye centers around the story of Dongfang Huai Zhu (played by Liu Shishi) and Wangquan Hong Ye (played by Zhang Yunlong).
Dongfang Huazhu is the eldest daughter of the Dongfang family (The strongest human family in FSMM). Unlike many other women, being the part of Dongfang family, she’s a highly skilled martial artist (not the same but somehow her personality is similar to Assasin Ren Xin from A Journey To Love; calm & composed warrior and proactive in many situations).
Meanwhile, Wangquan Hong Ye (played by Zhang Yunlong) is from the second-strongest human family. Because of his special clown-like mask, he is known as a ‘masked swordsman’.
These two highly skilled individuals from two different powerful clans work together to maintain peace and revive the Yiqi alliance.
Cast Introduction
When the cast lineup was officially announced for this drama, I was simply in awe. Trust me, all the popular actors or actresses in the industries today are part of this series. Even those who play the main lead in several major projects or A-level projects are in the supporting cast in this series.
Wu Xuan Yi, Zhai Xiaowen, Shen Yue, Ding Yuxi, Zhang Ruonan, Meng Zi Yi, and more will be in the supporting characters including Hou Ming Huo, Chen Yuqi, and Peng Xiaoren in the guest roles.
If you have watched these artists’ works before, then most of them have their own bunch of leading role dramas. Considering this is a major project, it might not be that surprising to many fans but still bringing together all these familiar faces in one place is truly exciting, isn’t it?
Fox Spirit Matchmaker 3
The main male character Wang Fu Gui is the son of Dongfang Huai Zhu and Wangquan Hong Ye (portrayed in Chapter 2). Wangquan Hong Ye raised his son as a weapon to slay demons. That’s why Fu Gui was trained and taught that all the spirits and demons in the world were his enemies and his duty was to eliminate them. But he never understood why, unless he met spider Spirit Qingtong.
‘Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Sword and Beloved’ is going to be a roller coaster ride and a real tear-jerker, especially with Cheng Yi’s accompaniment there’s no doubt about it. Cheng Yi’s ability to portray a wide range of emotions, from heart-wrenching sorrow to side-splitting laughter, we’ve seen it all.
When Will Fox Spirit Matchmaker 3 be released?
Fox Spirit Matchmaker 3 is expected to be released in 2025. The show is currently under production. While Fox Spirit Matchmaker 1, starring Gong Jun & Yang Mi is set to premiere in 2024 on iQIYI.
