I remember when I was living in China, a common belief (at least among the kids) was that Marco Polo discovered and stole the recipe for pizza from the Chinese because China and lactose intolerance… Either way, one thing is for certain in this teaser trailer for the upcoming Netflix drama/adventure series Marco Polo, and that is that kung fu is not Italian.
In what looks to be a Vikings-like portrayal of the legendary adventurer, Lorenzo Richelmy leads as Marco Polo in a big-budget, 10-episode epic that includes lots of panning shots, epic battles, opium induced dream scenes (yay!) and possibly suspect historical facts. The first two episodes are directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg (who both directed the 2012 Kon-Tiki and will direct the 2017 Pirates of the Caribbean 5) and written by show creator John Fusco (The Forbidden Kingdom). And I have to say I am rather excited about it!
The show will follow our intrepid adventurer as he navigates not only land and sea but also the political and cultural realm of Mongolia at a time when the famous leader Kublai Khan reigned. If you know your history, you’ll know that he was pretty ruthless and also the founder of the Yuan Dynasty. Okay, enough of the history lesson, have a watch of the teaser below.
What do you think? I get a distinct Vikings, Da Vinci’s Demons and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon feel. In other words, awesome! As normal, Netflix will offer all 10 episodes at the same time on 12 December 2014
Last Updated: October 29, 2014
