Deng Chao
There were rumours that Deng Chao, Nie Yuan, Tong Dawei and Huang Xiaoming are part of the cast. Huang, who was initially a popular choice for the role of Yan Qing, claimed that he did not receive any notice and is unable to join the project due to his schedule. Deng was considered by Wu Ziniu for playing Song Jiang. Nie was initially confirmed to portray Lin Chong, but an online poll found that Nie ranked behind another actor, Yu Bo (), in terms of popularity for playing Lin Chong, even though the poll was not a factor in determining which actor would be cast. Both Nie and Deng had expressed interest in taking on the role of Ximen Qing.