--- title: The Great Wall Matt Damon Criticism: Zhang Yimou Responds description: Director Zhang Yimou has released a statement addressing the whitewashing controversy surrounding his upcoming film The Great Wall. canonical: https://time.com/4439815/the-great-wall-director-responds-to-matt-damon-casting-criticism/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-04T21:31:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:35:09.094Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Great Wall Director Responds to Matt Damon Casting Criticism og:description: Yimou is speaking out to defend his work. og:url: https://time.com/4439815/the-great-wall-director-responds-to-matt-damon-casting-criticism/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a86d0dee7ade2ce/6988a13de20a8712cca91f0e/yhang-zimou.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Le Vision Pictures USA Launch Event og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Great Wall Director Responds to Matt Damon Casting Criticism twitter:description: Yimou is speaking out to defend his work. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a86d0dee7ade2ce/6988a13de20a8712cca91f0e/yhang-zimou.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _The Great Wall_ Director Responds to Matt Damon Casting Criticism > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Aug 4, 2016 9:31 PM UTC  Chinese director Zhang Yimou attends the Le Vision Pictures USA launch event at Sofitel Hotel on November 9, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. Chinese director Zhang Yimou attends the Le Vision Pictures USA launch event at Sofitel Hotel on November 9, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.Chris Weeks/Getty Images for Le Vision Pictures  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Aug 4, 2016 9:31 PM UTC Director [Zhang Yimou](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1861543%5F1865103%5F1865107,00.html) has released a statement addressing the controversy surrounding his upcoming film _The Great Wall_. In the wake of _Fresh of the Boat_ star [Constance Wu’s criticism](http://time.com/4433113/constance-wu-matt-damon-great-wall/) that [Matt Damon’s](http://time.com/4437359/matt-damon-jason-bourne-desert-sprints/) casting in the lead role of the Chinese fantasy adventure film perpetuates “the racist myth that only a white man can save the world,” Yimou is speaking out to defend his work. “In many ways _The Great Wall_ is the opposite of what is being suggested,” he told [_Entertainment Weekly_](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/04/great-wall-director-addresses-whitewashing-controversy-matt-damon). “For the first time, a film deeply rooted in Chinese culture, with one of the largest Chinese casts ever assembled, is being made at tent pole scale for a world audience. Our film is not about the construction of the Great Wall. Matt Damon is not playing a role that was originally conceived for a Chinese actor. The arrival of his character in our story is an important plot point. There are five major heroes in our story and he is one of them — the other four are all Chinese.” Yimou — who has previously helmed critically acclaimed [epics](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0955443/) such as _House of Flying Daggers_ and _Hero_ — went on to say that _The Great Wall_‘s casting fits with the story he wanted the movie, which is China’s most expensive movie to date, to convey. “As the director of over 20 Chinese language films and the Beijing Olympics, I have not and will not cast a film in a way that was untrue to my artistic vision,” he said. “I hope when everyone sees the film and is armed with the facts they will agree.” _The Great Wall_ is set to hit theaters Feb. 17, 2017. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4439815/the-great-wall-director-responds-to-matt-damon-casting-criticism/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4439815/the-great-wall-director-responds-to-matt-damon-casting-criticism/"},"headline":"The Great Wall Director Responds to Matt Damon Casting Criticism","datePublished":"2016-08-04T21:31:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:35:09.094Z","description":"\"Matt Damon is not playing a role that was originally conceived for a Chinese actor\"","url":"https://time.com/4439815/the-great-wall-director-responds-to-matt-damon-casting-criticism/","keywords":["movies","Newsfeed","Matt Damon"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a86d0dee7ade2ce/6988a13de20a8712cca91f0e/yhang-zimou.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a86d0dee7ade2ce/6988a13de20a8712cca91f0e/yhang-zimou.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Le Vision Pictures USA Launch Event","caption":"Chinese director Zhang Yimou attends the Le Vision Pictures USA launch event at Sofitel Hotel on November 9, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.","creditText":"Chris Weeks/Getty Images for Le Vision Pictures","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4439815/the-great-wall-director-responds-to-matt-damon-casting-criticism/","name":"The Great Wall Director Responds to Matt Damon Casting Criticism"}}]}] ```