After the costly, monster-packed Hollywood tentpole The Great Wall, Chinese cinema legend Zhang Yimou appears to be returning to more tried and tested material — beautifully crafted martial arts period drama, The Hollywood Reporter reveals.

Village Roadshow Pictures Asia offered Asian film fans a sneak peak of Zhang's much anticipated next project, Shadow, at the Shanghai International Film Festival on Monday, June 18.

The images released feature four of the film's stars, Deng Chao, Sun Li, Zheng Kai, Guan Xiaotong, engaged in moments of poignant drama and artful combat (Qianyuan Wang, not pictured, is also attached to the project).

Little is officially known about the film's plot so far, but Chinese media have reported that the film is set during China's Three Kingdom's era (AD 220–280). Zhang and Wei Li share writing credits. Zhang's long-running collaborator is lensing the picture. Unlike The Great Wall, the film will be told entirely in Zhang's native Mandarin.

Shadow is co-produced by Village Roadshow Pictures Asia and Le Vision Pictures. Catherine Pang and Village Roadshow's Ellen Eliasoph produce.