Three Kingdoms Part One: Struggle for Luoyang
Three Kingdoms: The Beginning
If Chang'an made you fall in love with the poetry and grandeur of the Tang Dynasty, then Light Chaser Animation's next project will drag you straight into the blood‑soaked chaos of the late Han Dynasty. Three Kingdoms Part One: Struggle for Luoyang is not just another historical epic—it's the definitive animated origin story of one of the most celebrated periods in Chinese history.
Most adaptations of the Three Kingdoms start with the oath of the peach garden or the rise of rival warlords. Light Chaser's film goes deeper, setting its clock between 171 AD and 190 AD—the years when the Han Dynasty's foundation finally cracked beyond repair.
The story follows two ambitious young men: Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. Both are minor officials with grand visions of saving the empire from corrupt eunuchs and incompetent regents. They ally with General He Jin, hoping to purge the court and restore the Emperor's authority. But their plan spirals out of control. To eliminate the eunuchs, Yuan Shao summons outside armies into the capital—a fatal miscalculation that invites the brutal warlord Dong Zhuo to march on Luoyang.
Once inside the city, Dong Zhuo seizes absolute power, deposing the young Emperor and plunging the realm into an era of warlordism. From this single event, the stage is set for the rise of Yuan Shu, Lü Bu, Sun Jian, and the sworn brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. The film promises to be the first animated feature to systematically unravel the complex political web that created the Three Kingdoms.
🎬 Studio: Light Chaser Animation (追光动画) — the powerhouse behind White Snake, New Gods: Yang Jian, and the 18 billion+ RMB grossing Chang'an.[reference:3]
🎥 Director: Xie Junwei (谢君伟), who previously co‑directed Chang'an and A Tale of Ghosts and Gods.[reference:4]
✍️ Screenwriter: Wang Wei (王微), the founder of Light Chaser and the creative mind behind nearly all of the studio's original screenplays, including Chang'an and White Snake.[reference:5]
📋 Producer: Song Yiyi (宋依依).[reference:6]
🎵 Music: The promotional theme song "Rolling, the Yangtze River Flows East" (滚滚长江东逝水)—the iconic opening from the classic 1994 TV series—will be re‑recorded by legendary baritone Yang Hongji, now 84 years old, bridging generations of Three Kingdoms fandom.[reference:7]
- A Fresh Perspective: Instead of retelling Romance of the Three Kingdoms from the middle, this film focuses on the prelude—the power vacuum that allowed heroes to rise. The tagline says it all: "The fate of the realm hinges on Luoyang; to seize Luoyang is to seize the world."[reference:8]
- Young Heroes, Raw Ambition: See a younger, more idealistic Cao Cao before he becomes the "villain" of legend. Watch Yuan Shao before his pride leads to ruin. The poster depicts the three factions—eunuchs, aristocratic families, and imperial in‑laws—surrounding Luoyang, with Cao Cao and Yuan Shao standing at the crossroads of chaos.[reference:9]
- Visual Spectacle: If the early trailers are any indication, Light Chaser has pushed its signature hyper‑realistic animation style even further. Expect sweeping shots of ancient Luoyang, intricate armor designs, and battle sequences that rival live‑action epics.
- The Start of a Trilogy: This is "Part One." Light Chaser is committing to a multi‑film saga that will eventually cover the entire rise and fall of the Three Kingdoms. Get in on the ground floor.
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