Will Tencent Video succeed in building the 'Wei Yu Universe' as the author Wei Yu's IP makes another attempt?
Following anime and online movies, Tencent Video will once again adapt Yu Wei's suspense novel "Three Lines Reincarnation" into a TV series.
On October 21, the new drama "Three Lines Mystery Return," adapted from "Three Lines Reincarnation," began filming in Dali, Yunnan, starring young actors Meng Ziyi and Wang Hongyi. However, compared to the two actors reuniting, Yu Wei seems to be the biggest highlight of the entire project, with even the trending hashtag on Weibo being #YuWeiNewDramaThreeLinesMysteryReturnBeginsFilming#.
In 2021, Youku's fantasy romance drama "Rattan" became a nationwide hit. This small but beautiful blockbuster not only reversed the public perception of Jing Tian as just a pretty face but also made Yu Wei, the author of the original novel "Half-Demon Rattan," an overnight sensation in the IP adaptation market.
Just two months after the finale of "Rattan," Tencent Video "quickly snapped up" the adaptation rights to all of Yu Wei's undeveloped works, namely the five novels "April Affairs," "West Out of Yumen," "Three Lines Reincarnation," "Dragon Bone Burning Box," and "Owl Rising from the Green Land," aiming to create a "Yu Wei Universe" through diversified IP development.
However, also in 2021, Yu Wei's Weibo post criticizing the poor quality of adaptation scripts and her efforts to halt the production of two dramas sent Tencent Video into the eye of the storm, significantly lowering public expectations for Yu Wei's IP adaptations. This seemed to foreshadow the rocky start of Tencent Video's "Yu Wei Universe."
In the three years since Tencent Video acquired Yu Wei's IP, the pace of live-action adaptations has been slow. In 2023, only one web drama, "West Out of Yumen," and one online movie, "Three Lines Reincarnation," were released, both of which received mediocre reviews and failed to achieve the breakout success of "Rattan."
But in 2024, Tencent Video has clearly ramped up its investment in Yu Wei's IP development, speeding up the development process. Two Yu Wei IP adaptation dramas have already begun filming this year: "Owl Rising from the Green Land" just wrapped up during the summer, and "Three Lines Mystery Return" followed shortly after. The scale of the projects has also increased, with Yu Wei's IP adaptations welcoming their first A-list star—Dilraba Dilmurat as the female lead in "Owl Rising from the Green Land," with Yu Wei herself serving as the screenwriter. With such a grand setup, the next blockbuster seems inevitable.
Undoubtedly, Tencent Video's creative changes in adapting Yu Wei's IP for live-action have continuously raised expectations among audiences and the market. However, the challenges of developing Yu Wei's IP have also added more uncertainty to Tencent Video's "Yu Wei Universe."
Yu Wei's IP Still Holds Development Value
Although Yu Wei's IP became a hot commodity for adaptations after "Rattan," her popularity in the online literature circle began much earlier.
Yu Wei actually started her career writing fan fiction. Her first novel on Jinjiang Literature City, "Kaifeng Legends," was a fanfic about Zhan Zhao, which laid the foundation for her subsequent writing style—fantasy suspense.
From "Kaifeng Legends" in 2009 to her currently serialized "Flesh and Bone Cage," Yu Wei has produced only about a dozen original works in her 15-year career, making her far from a prolific author. Even her most popular novel on Jinjiang, "West Out of Yumen," has only 210,000 collections, hardly a top-tier IP.
Yet Yu Wei remains a top author on Jinjiang, even earning the title "Queen of Suspense," largely due to her innovative blend of genres—fantasy, suspense, horror, and romance—carving out a unique niche in a platform once dominated by clichéd romance tropes and influencing the future direction of female-oriented fiction.
Almost all readers of Yu Wei's novels are struck by her boundless imagination. Her stories feature grand worldviews distinct from reality, blending folklore, supernatural elements, and history—traditionally more common in male-oriented fiction—into female-centric narratives to create eerie, grotesque, and fantastical spaces. Whimsical and unpredictable, her works stand out for their unique style.
For example, "Resentment Strikes the Bell," "Seven Deadly Mysteries," "Three Lines Reincarnation," and "Dragon Bone Burning Box" share the same overarching 世界观. In ancient times, humans reproduced sexually, allowing generational continuity, while gods reproduced asexually, accumulating 记忆 and knowledge but unable to 延续 their lineage. Facing extinction, the gods 分裂：黄帝 sought to intermarry with humans for 永续繁殖， while 蚩尤 insisted on 血脉 purity, leading to the epic Battle of Zhuolu.
The series begins with the defeated 蚩尤 clan's resurrection plot. They steal a box containing divine relics, using its contents—water essence, mountain 胆， and beast bones—to trigger 现代 families' multi-generational quests for truth. The saga concludes with "The 铃音 cease, the 七简 vanish; the 水鬼 fade, the 山鬼 disperse."
Even in today's rapidly evolving Jinjiang female fiction landscape, Yu Wei's novels stand out for their "mind-blowing creativity"—especially considering the 世界观 of her series, starting with "Resentment Strikes the Bell," was conceived 13 years ago, dazzling readers at the time.
Rooted in expansive world-building, Yu Wei's characters transcend conventional romance tropes, resulting in her signature hallmark—charismatic female leads unlike any in 女频 fiction.
Unlike typical 女频 romances that portray male leads through the heroine's gaze, Yu Wei crafts her heroines through third-person or male perspectives. Mysterious and formidable, they never rely on male saviors but thrive on their own agency.
In handling romance, Yu Wei long abandoned the damsel-in-distress trope, opting for power-balanced or even female-dominant dynamics. In later works, romance is further downplayed, no longer the central appeal.
Fresh 世界观 and 爱情观 laid the groundwork for adaptations, and "Rattan's" success further validated Yu Wei's IP potential.
Her expansive worlds offer rich material for 影视化， while interconnected stories naturally form an "IP universe." Moreover, evolving female 观众 tastes align perfectly with her 爱情观， making Tencent Video's interest unsurprising.
Yet one hurdle remains: the staggering adaptation 难度 has kept Yu Wei's IP from meeting expectations.
Why Is Yu Wei's IP So Hard to Adapt?
In fact, Yu Wei's IP is often called the Mount Everest of IP adaptation difficulty.
Adaptations began in 2016 with Sohu's "Resentment Strikes the Bell" drama "The Bell Strikes," starring 知名 actors like Li Naiwen and Li Zonghan. But its 劣质剧情 left fans 怨气冲天， earning a mere 3.2 豆瓣 score.
This rocky start nearly doomed Yu Wei's IP until Youku's 2021 hit "Rattan" revived 信心. Yet instead of launching a "Yu Wei Universe," it marked the peak. iQiyi's "Jade Dynasty" (adapted from "Kaifeng Legends") scored 4.0, while Tencent's 2023 "Three Lines Reincarnation" movie got 5.8. Thus, all three major platforms have 尝试 Yu Wei IPs, with only Youku succeeding.
Objectively, Yu Wei's IP boasts 天然 advantages: female 受众， innovative worlds, and 超前爱情观. So why the 频频失利？ The answer lies in the IP itself.
Her signature eerie tone, vast 世界观， and supernatural elements thrive in 文字 but falter in 跨媒介 translation. Visualizing imagination is notoriously difficult—how do you film the unfilmable?
For instance, "Resentment Strikes the Bell's" heroine communicates with vengeful spirits, while "Seven Deadly Mysteries" weaves 老子's 道德经 into a 凤凰鸾扣封存的凶简 hunt. Such 民俗志怪 elements permeate her works, forcing adapters to choose between faithful but unfeasible visuals or watered-down versions that disappoint fans—a lose-lose scenario.
Tencent's "Yu Wei Universe" faces colossal challenges but isn't hopeless. Her series shares 探险 and 民俗 DNA with "Ghost Blows Out the Light," which Tencent has adapted successfully. However，女频 nuances demand extra care for her 女性角色。
Beyond dramas, Tencent is diversifying with 动画版 "Three Lines Reincarnation" announced in 2022. For now, the A-list-powered "Owl Rising from the Green Land," with Yu Wei as 编剧， carries the hopes of an entire universe.
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