An epic trailer for Season 2 of Netflix’s Marco Polo teases marital strife, an act of war and Michelle Yeoh.
The 10-episode second season streams beginning July 1. It presents the Italian explorer’s further adventures in Kublai Khan’s court in 13th Century China. As the Mongol empire continues to expand, Polo (Lorenzo Richelmy) becomes a trusted adviser to its leader, Kublai Khan (Benedict Wong).
That connection seems to be straining the Emperor’s relationship with his wife, Empress Chabi (Joan Chen).
“You share with this foreigner, not with me,” the Empress says to him.
Khan gets a dig in, too. “I do what must be done for our empire,” he says to her, insinuating she does not have to make hard decisions.
Khan has bigger concerns, though. His cousin, Kaidu (Rick Yune), challenges Khan’s claim to the Mongol throne. Polo calls it an act of war.
Cue the ambitious battle sequences. Speaking of fights, Yeoh joins the cast as the Handmaiden, a mysterious person from Hundred Eye’s (Tom Wu) past. The trailer teases a forest showdown between the two.
The new key art, shown below, teases all this internal strife. It shows several characters and is captioned “War From Within.”
Netflix launched the first season of “Marco Polo” in December 2014. Check out my Season 1 “Marco Polo” review and interview with Lorenzo Richelmy at RedEye. (Here’s a link to all my “Marco Polo” stories at RedEye.)
The series started off a bit slowly in its first season, but steadily built momentum to a satisfying conclusion. The trailer suggests Season 2 will build on that momentum. And did I mention Michelle Yeoh has joined the cast?
“Michelle Yeoh is not only a screen legend and one of the greatest international action stars of all time, she’s one of the best actors of her generation,” creator John Fusco said in an earlier Netflix release. “We are thrilled to have her join one of the most diverse ensembles in television and bring her unique talents to ‘Marco Polo.’ Her role in the second season is one that’s going to add even more intrigue, mystery and Asian martial arts to our rich story world.”
Exec producers Fusco and Dan Minahan act as showrunners. Patrick Macmanus, Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein and Elizabeth Sarnoff are executive producers.
Many other cast members return for Season 2, including Zhu Zhu (as Kokachin), Olivia Cheng (Mei Lin), Claudia Kim (Khutulun), Remy Hii (Prince Jingim), Mahesh Jadu (Ahmad) and Uli Latukefu (Byamba).
Marco Polo Season 2 key art
