Chapter 1350 Series Planning

The opening scene of the series *The Successor* is an aerial shot of a city.

Like the aerial shots that appear in many superhero movies, a magnificent modern city sits on the East Coast. Several cruise ships float on the vast ocean, and skyscrapers made of reinforced concrete stand tall, a scene of prosperity.

It was late, the sky was gloomy, and there was a drizzle, casting a haze over the entire city.

The camera gradually lowers, and from the details such as the shapes of the buildings and the billboards on them, it can be seen that this is a city in a Western country.

The camera continues to lower, arriving at a wide, deserted street.

Although the city is very prosperous, there are few vehicles on this road in the rainy night, inexplicably giving people a sense of crisis.

A sports car sped past, with loud music playing inside.

A handsome young man with blond hair and a tall figure was showing off his skill of driving with one hand, while the other hand was kneading the plump thigh of the female companion next to him, which was covered in stockings.

This is obviously the protagonist, Phil.

The camera shoots forward from the back seat, revealing Phil's handsome profile and his female companion's flirtatious yet hesitant expression.

The wipers swayed, and visibility ahead was low, but the empty road, the adrenaline-pumping music, and the touch of his hand obviously made Phil very excited. After stepping on the accelerator, the sports car roared, and the tachometer and speedometer began to swing wildly.

But at this moment, a strong man suddenly appeared in the middle of the road without warning, blocking Phil's path!

Amid the woman's screams, Phil cursed subconsciously while slamming on the brakes!

The tires screeched sharply as they rubbed against the wet road, but the sports car still crashed into the mountain-like strong man.

After a loud noise, the camera spun, the airbags exploded, and Phil fell into a semi-conscious state.

Immediately afterward, the car door was violently torn open, and a thick arm dragged Phil out of the car.

Phil, held in one hand, swayed in front of the camera, the bright red tie dangling back and forth, looking a bit like the long tongue of a hanged ghost.

…

The following content was all plot that Meng Chang had already read in the original novel.

The strong man took Phil to the rooftop of a nearby building. Phil was so frightened that he was in tears. Fortunately, two superheroes arrived in time. The next day, Phil's ugly photo of him crying and his image ruined made the front-page headlines.

Obviously, in terms of plot, Director Zhu Xiao Ce highly respected the content of the original work when filming, but maximized the use of the camera to enhance the expressiveness of the entire story.

For example, in this opening segment, the camera panned down from above the city and continued to lower, finally showing the scene of Phil's car accident from the perspective inside the car, hiding many details in the shots. While getting straight to the point, it also contained a wealth of information.

In terms of the expressiveness of the plot, specific images and sounds are obviously much stronger than thin text.

And Phil's terrified appearance when facing the gangsters was also fully displayed through the camera. Under the superb acting skills of this young actor, it even brought some slight discomfort.

After all, there are not many protagonists who are so cowardly from the very beginning.

The subsequent plot roughly followed the original *The Successor*, but some changes were made to the specific narrative order. Director Zhu Xiao Ce used film and television techniques to slightly disrupt the original linear story, creating more suspense and making many classic scenes more infectious and expressive.

Moreover, the specific forms of expression for the same plot are also different between novels and film and television dramas.

For example, there is a passage in the text that tells about Phil's motivation for personally funding a superhero talent show.

The wealthy naturally have disadvantages in participating in talent shows. Audiences prefer civilian heroes who come from the grass roots, have tragic backgrounds, and show a strong sense of social responsibility.

If a wealthy person participates in a talent show and stuffs money to the judges, it is easy to be resisted by the audience, so Phil decided to create his own talent show, which is *The Successor*.

In the original text, Cui Geng's description of this passage is very normal and straightforward. It is told through the dialogue between Phil and his father and Phil's own thoughts.

This kind of expression is not particularly excellent in novels, let alone in film and television dramas.

So, Zhu Xiao Ce changed the form of expression and arranged a scene where Phil went to the scene to watch and investigate other superhero talent shows.

In this plot, the different treatment of wealthy and civilian heroes participating in the audition is very specifically shown, making the whole plot more smooth and natural, and more convincing to the audience.

There were also changes in the specific details compared to the original.

When Cui Geng was writing the original story, although he also researched a lot of relevant information and planned the entire story background for a long time, one person's efforts are limited after all.

Cui Geng has never lived or resided in the United States, so many details are definitely not expressed so well, and there are even omissions.

Director Zhu Xiao Ce and the screenwriting team of Fei Huang Studio re-examined the details of the entire story and exchanged opinions with screenwriters from the United States to check for omissions and fill in the gaps in these details.

…

Three hours passed quickly.

The lights in the conference room were turned on again, and then, Huang Si Bo sent the story outlines of the next few episodes to everyone in the conference room.

Meng Chang also got a copy, and after quickly flipping through it, he matched it with the original plot he had read.

According to the planning of *The Successor* series, there are 12 episodes in total, and the first three episodes are equivalent to a quarter of the plot.

The content of the first three episodes mainly includes: Phil is kidnapped and makes the headlines, he is furious in his mansion, smashing things and even beating the maid and butler;

He proposes to his father that he wants to become a superhero and investigates other talent shows;

He begins to plan his own talent show. *The Successor* talent show is put on the agenda, and plans for auditions and publicity begin, leading to a chorus of mockery online.

The next three parts of the plot are:

Episodes four to six: *The Successor* continues to have high ratings, the show is full of tricks, and Phil becomes like a fish in water;

The black guy in Phil's team gets second place with his outstanding performance, and Phil also reverses everyone's impression of himself through *The Successor* talent show, but he does not use this to become a superhero, but goes into hiding;

A kidnapping case occurs in Hope City, and a wealthy businessman's young daughter is murdered. Phil begins to bombard the three superheroes involved in the rescue online.

Episodes seven to nine: Phil orchestrates everything behind the scenes, directing the country from God's perspective and reaping the public's trust in himself, but is still unwilling to become a superhero, but reluctantly agrees to comment on related events on Twitter;

Phil's black apprentice falls into a coma while on a mission. Phil uses this opportunity to finally decide to become a superhero, but is rejected by the Superhero Association;

Phil is not angry but very happy. He even starts preparing a superhero platform, preparing to participate in the superhero election.

The last three episodes: Phil chooses the right representative group, and the first battle of the election is successful, but soon faces the crazy counterattack of the superheroes. The two sides expose each other's scandals and ugly secrets, but Phil has firmly tied his fans to himself through information cocoons.

In the end, Phil successfully overthrows the strongest superhero through a major public safety incident and replaces him, ascending to the pinnacle of power.

Compared to Cui Geng's original novel, the content of *The Successor* series is about half filmed.

Because according to Cui Geng's plan, Phil becoming the strongest superhero is only the first half of the story, and can also be seen as "Phil's dirty history of getting rich."

In the second half of the plot, Phil will be attacked by traditional interest groups and emerging superheroes, facing even more severe challenges.

But Phil still continues to suppress dissidents and exploit superheroes through various dirty means and the power in his hands, making them his vassals, deceiving the public with false crime data, and instead steadily sits on the supreme throne of superheroes.

The current 12 episodes of *The Successor* series only plan for the "Phil's dirty history of getting rich" part.

This is partly because the capacity of the series is limited, so it can only express so much content, and partly because the second half of the plot is not as exciting as the first half.

This is not difficult to feel.

The second half is a reinforcement and supplement to the first half, just like the sequels of many excellent series. It can only be said that the plot is acceptable and passable, but it completely lacks the freshness that the first half brought when it was first seen.

So for the adaptation of *The Successor*, only the first half is planned. Whether or not to release the second half is still under consideration.

If not, ending with the blank space of the first half is actually not bad.

Phil has become the strongest superhero, but he faces a dual challenge from the old and new forces. Will he be driven off the altar by the traditional forces, the "anti-Phil faction," using even more shameless means, or will he consolidate his rule and plunge the entire Hope City into endless darkness?

Everyone should have different answers in their hearts.

According to the ending specified in the original work, the audience obviously has less room for imagination.

Soon, everyone finished reading the story outlines of the following episodes.

Huang Si Bo asked nervously: "President Pei, what do you think?"

He thought to himself, even if there is a problem, it is Zhu Xiao Ce's problem, after all, I was still suffering while traveling when this series started filming.

In fact, when Huang Si Bo took over, it was almost finished filming. Even if he wanted to change it, it would be difficult.

Although it can be re-edited, the filmed material has already been finalized, and forcibly editing it will only make it worse.

Huang Si Bo paused and added: "The first three episodes may seem a bit depressing, but the story structure is like this, and it is difficult to change it."