Taiwan Trilogy Crash Crisis: Wei Te-sheng's NFT fundraising failure, animation costs out of control, 400 million cultural dream may become a distant memory.

Weird Sheng's "Taiwan Trilogy" has gone from a fundraising myth of 140 million New Taiwan Dollars to a sigh of "as long as it can be completed in my lifetime," the NFT rescue plan has failed, and the animation production costs are once again out of control. This epic film dream of Taiwan not only tests the director's persistence but also exposes the structural difficulties of Taiwan's film and television industry. The self-deprecation of "no one actually cares about Taiwan's 400 years of history, it seems that I'm the only one who does" reflects the disappointment of the investors and the collapse of confidence in cultural investment.

####From Grand Vision to the Sigh of a Lifetime: The Fractured Dream of "Taiwan Trilogy"

The "Taiwan Trilogy" was originally positioned as a live-action epic, having raised over 140 million NTD, with a promise to recreate the appearance of Taiwan in the 17th century. The crowdfunding page depicted a grand vision: "Shoot a movie once, do not dismantle the set, build a Taiwan theme park," "The movie will always be screened here and will never go out of circulation," "Our goal is the international market, not just to focus on Taiwan."

However, four years have passed, and the filming base is overgrown with weeds. Due to cost issues, it was changed to animation, but progress has been delayed. Wei Te-sheng candidly stated at the "2025 World Ethnic Film Festival": "Many scripts, but no money," and humorously remarked, "Let's not make ourselves too miserable first." The exhaustion in his tone stands in stark contrast to his earlier vigor.

In order to continue creating, he brought his new project "Sanchashan" to the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion, but his attitude shifted to "let's give it a try," indicating that long-term obstacles have dulled his obsession. A statement like, "I don't dare to reserve time with the actors, otherwise there won't be any filming... I can't just be stuck there doing nothing for a lifetime!" encapsulates the hardships and helplessness of this cultural marathon.

####NFT Rescue Plan's Complete Failure

When fundraising encountered obstacles, Wei Desheng and the production team turned to blockchain, hoping to unite fans as "co-producers" through NFTs. At that time, Wei Desheng criticized Taiwanese people for eagerly buying TSMC stocks but not investing in culture. However, the "NaviVerse Rich Voyage" project he led also faced a lukewarm response:

Originally planned to issue 8,160 ship ticket NFTs, only 660 were sold.

In the large CEX, 5,000 Diamond Editions were launched, raising 395,000 USD, but almost no one in the secondary market took over.

The NFT has been on the market for less than a year, and the official website and IG have stopped updating, with holders jokingly referring to it as "buying a museum ticket."

Although funds have been received, trust has significantly eroded, once again proving that technology is not a cure-all; project management and cost control are the long-term keys.

####Animation Production Costs Once Again Out of Control: The New Dilemma of Technological Transformation

To reduce expenses, the team decided to switch to animation, but this move not only didn't save money, it actually doubled the budget risk. An animator involved in the production revealed on Threads that Wei Te-sheng was unfamiliar with the animation process, often requiring dozens of characters to be crammed into the segments, resulting in "the budget flowing like a faucet left wide open."

The Japanese animation industry has long strictly controlled budgets, timelines, and divisions of labor through the "production committee" mechanism, reflecting that if Taiwan lacks a corresponding industrial structure, the personal enthusiasm of directors will ultimately be difficult to counteract the black hole of costs.

####From Personal Dreams to Industry Issues: Who Will Foot the Bill for Taiwan's Cultural Dreams?

Wei Te-sheng said, "Taiwan's 400-year history is only important to me," seemingly pointing out that a cultural track less traveled is facing a structural fault:

· The subject matter is vast and the payback period is long, commercial capital lacks patience.

· Government subsidies are scattered and limited in amount, making it difficult to support continuous production scale.

· Audiences habitually maintain distance from local historical perspectives, and market demand is insufficient to reverse drive investment.

Thus, the director became an isolated island caught between ideals and reality. Whether adapting live-action, creating animation, or issuing NFTs, it all felt like casting a searchlight in different seas, only to ultimately face the vacuum of funding, technology, and the simultaneous absence of the audience.

####The Heartbreak of Investors and the Cold Winter of Cultural Investment

A fundraising and NFT purchaser responded to the media regarding Wei Te-sheng's statement: "A 400-year history is not only something that Director Wei cares about... We love Taiwan, and we initially believed that besides Wei Te-sheng, no one else would be willing to do this. Even if it doesn't meet expectations, it's still a form of encouragement, but what he did was even worse than we imagined."

"This is not just encouragement anymore; it is a form of discouragement. Everyone who wants to work on such themes, or the next new director who loves Taiwanese themes like Wei, will see the example of Wei De-sheng and avoid it. In the end, innovation in the film industry will only be left with New Year films, commercial films, and gangster temple culture films. This negative impact may be larger than we can imagine."

The packaging is exquisite, and it represents over 400 years of Taiwan's magnificent cultural dreams, yet it has become a disheartening reality of "as long as there is a shot" in one's lifetime, which is truly lamentable. If there is a new cultural wave and emerging directors when Taiwan's cultural dream rises again, can we still win back the support of these heartbroken cultural investors? The voices of the fundraisers mention that they fear after Wei Te-sheng and after the "Taiwan Trilogy," it will become a cultural silence.