Watch Matt Damon Fight Monsters in Zhang Yimou's 'The Great Wall'

As Beijing residents, we’ve all seen our fair share of the Great Wall, but now there’s a chance to see it like we’ve never seen it before.

The first trailer for veteran Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s highly anticipated film The Great Wall (长城) just came out and it’s completely bonkers.

The film tells the story of an elite force of warriors making a last stand for humanity on the world’s most iconic structure.

But it’s not exactly what you’d call historically accurate. The film posits that the structure, which took 1,700 years to build, and stretches for 5,500 miles, was actually built to keep monsters out.

Also, for a film set in the Northern Song Dynasty, its main star is the somewhat incongruously white dude Matt Damon.

Other laowai include Willem Dafoe and Pedro Pascal, but there's also a strong cast of Chinese actors including Andy Lau (刘德华), Luhan (鹿晗), Jing Tian (景甜), Zhang Hanyu (张涵予), Eddie Peng (彭于晏), Lin Gengxin (林更新), Zheng Kai (郑恺)、Huang Xuan (黄轩), Chen Xuedong (陈学冬), and Wang Junkai (王俊凯).

Apparently the idea for the film originated between discussions between Legendary CEO Thomas Tull and World War Z author Max Brooks.

Director Zhang Yimou is the filmmaker behind Chinese hits like Hero and House of Flying Daggers, and is known for his breathtaking visual style as well as for crafting the opening and closing ceremonies for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

With a budget of approximately USD 135 million, the film is the most expensive Chinese movie ever made, so it’s probably worth checking out just to see you what kind of action that budget buys you here nowadays.

The Great Wall opens in China on December 16, two months before it opens in North America.

Photo: inverzija.net