An American and Chinese co-production starring Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, and Andy Lau, the plot centers on two European mercenary warriors (Damon and Pascal) imprisoned by imperial Chinese forces within the Great Wall of China after arriving in search of gunpowder, eventually joining forces with the Chinese to help combat an alien threat.

Three walls were built during production as they could not shoot on the actual Great Wall.
The film, which received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics,[6] grossed $334.9 million worldwide and was considered a box-office bomb for losing up to $75 million.