After the New York Comic-Con panel for The Great Wall energized the crowd at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, I had the chance to attend a private press event featuring stars Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, Jing Tian, Wang Yunkai, and director Zhang Yimou.

Damon and Pascal had trouble hiding their total fanboy feelings towards their director, a man whom they both greatly admired for years for his filmography, including Raise the Red Lantern, Hero, and House of Flying Daggers. They routinely cited “pinch-me moments” on set. The first question went to the director about the process of making the film. He replied that it was developed over seven years and that he tried to add something unique to each shot, whether color or a specific action sequence.

It was a packed house on Saturday afternoon at The Theater at Madison Square Garden for New York Comic-Con, for Universal Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ The Great Wall panel and Q&A. From the director of some of the most beautiful kung fu epics eves, Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers/Hero), comes the largest production in the history of China, which makes sense since it’s called, The Great Wall. The film is a historical fantasy based on Chinese folklore about the monsters the Great Wall of China was built to keep out and the army dedicated to killing them. It features an all-star international cast including Oscar winner Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones), Jing Tian, Wang Junkai, Willem Dafoe, and Andy Lau.

Director Zhang Yimou, and cast members Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, and Junkai Wang were on hand for the NYCC panel, moderated by Dave Karger.