Scholar Who Walks The Night is the name of upcoming fantasy sageuk on MBC and the drama is more famous for the casting roulette that happened regarding the female leads rather than its subject matter. For a while it looked like the production would get stuck and would not see the light anytime soon. But finally the casting got confirmed with Lee Jun ki headlining the show along with Lee Yoo Bi, Kim So Eun, Changmin (of Kpop group TVXQ) and Lee Soo Hyuk. The balance of the leads does look weird as we have brilliance called Lee Jun Ki on one hand, and the others are also quite good but still a bit green and new.

The drama is about a vampire scholar (seems like one of the trends this year other than webtoon adaptations — this very drama is no exception as it’s adapted from a manhwa) who falls in love with a girl who crossdresses as man to sell books for financial support. I think this has become a norm these days to have crossdressing heroines in sageuks and frankly, it looks very dated and done-to-death trope. The main pair is Lee Jun Ki (I wish he did a modern rom-com as his next drama because his last show was also a periodic piece, Joseon Gunman. Though I can’t deny that he looks awesome in a period look) and Lee Yoo Bi, who impressed me with her comedy in Pinocchio but I’m not sure how this pairing would look. Kim So Eun (so no second season for Liar Game for the time being *pouts*) will play double role, one as our hero’s first love in her previous life and the other as the daughter of a high rank nobleman. She is engaged to crown prince, played by Changmin. Lee Soo Hyuk will play main villain, also a vampire. I loved him in High School King Of Savvy and totally looking forward to see him here.

I’m not a fan of sageuks but I’m a happy camper for fusion sageuks and this one looks just the right one for me. And there is Lee Jun Ki, how can I skip it! I admit that if he was not on board, this drama would have looked like a mess in the making, just like Night Watchman’s Journal. But with Lee Jun Ki’s name attached to the project, it has gained a lot of weight.

Even if a project is entangled with casting problems, that doesn’t mean that ithas a connection with its quality. The fresh example being Kill Me, Heal Me, which went on to become very popular. The PD for Scholar Who Walks The Night directed shows like Empress Ki and mega-hit The Moon That Embraces The Sun while screenwriter penned Paradise Ranch and was also attached to The First Shop Of Coffee Prince. It is slated to air from July after Warm And Cozy wraps up. Check out the script reading pics.