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Tag: American Born Chinese

  • SDCC: First Look at Disney+’s ‘American Born Chinese’

    SDCC: First Look at Disney+’s ‘American Born Chinese’

    Here’s a surprise but it seems that during a San Diego Comic-Con mixer, a first look at Disney+’s series American Born Chinese has been unveiled. While it’s not actual footage, there’s a banner that includes a first look at the series that’ll adapt Gene Luen Yang‘s iconic graphic novel. Ben Wang will take on the titular role of Jin, and is joined by quite the cast that includes Michelle Yeoh, Daniel Wu, Chin Han, Stephanie Hsu, Poppy Liu, and more.

    While it’s a shame we don’t get any trailer or footage of the project, it’s still quite exciting to finally see how far the project has come, which sees Shang-Chi‘s Destin Daniel Cretton back in the director’s chair for a Disney project. Here’s hoping that this tease also means we’ll get the first look in the near future as well.

  • Disney + Series ‘American Born Chinese’ Adds ‘Hacks’ Star to Cast

    Disney + Series ‘American Born Chinese’ Adds ‘Hacks’ Star to Cast

    The news comes courtesy of Variety, with the outlet revealing the Hacks breakout has nabbed a guest role in the forthcoming series. She joins a cast that includes the likes of Michelle Yeoh, Yeo Yann Yann, Daniel Wu, Chin Han, and Ke Huy Quan. Liu will portray Princess Iron Fan, a character described as “enchanting” and having magical powers.

    The Disney+ series, American Born Chinese, is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang. It follows Jin Wang, who’ll be played by Ben Wang, who is described as a high schooler trying to juggle a social life with his immigrant home life. After meeting a foreign exchange student named Wei-Chen, played by Jim Liu, the duo soon see their worlds colliding as Jin soon finds himself in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.

    Liu, who first broke out with the role of Kiki on the HBO Max series, Hacks, is building a busy resume. Along with American Born Chinese, Liu is confirmed to appear in the AMC anthology series, Tales of the Walking Dead, as well as the Amazon series adaptation of Dead Ringers. Outside of Hacks, she has previously appeared in shows like Better Call Saul and Hulu’s recently canceled Dollface.

    American Born Chinese hails from writer and showrunner Kelvin Yu, as well as Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), who’ll serve as a director and executive producer on the series.

    Source: Variety

  • Michelle Yeoh is Joined by ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Co-Star in ‘American Born Chinese’

    Michelle Yeoh is Joined by ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Co-Star in ‘American Born Chinese’

    The cast of the new Disney+ series American Born Chinese continues to grow, as it has now added Stephanie Hsu in a guest-starring role. The series will reunite her with Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, who worked on the indie hit Everything Everywhere All at Once. The series will adapt the graphic novel of Gene Luen Yang, which explores the struggles of a teenager named Jin Wang (Ben Wang), as he tries to balance being at high school as an immigrant child. His meeting with foreign exchange student Weih-Chen, played by Jim Liu, will change his life as their worlds collide.

    Hsu will take on the role of the Goddess of Stones, Shiji Niangniang. She works in a jewelry shop with her magical doll. Yeoh is playing auntie Guanyin, who is trying to help her nephew navigate American school life, but also hiding the fact that she is the Buddhist bodhisattva of Compassion. Quan is taking on the role of Freddy Wong, who is a fictional character from a 1990s sitcom.

    The project is quite an exciting one, as it further explores some interesting concepts of identity and our place in the world. While it will include some mystical elements, the original graphic novel kept its strong focus on its two leads, as they explore what it’s like having similar backgrounds but different upbringings. It will be exciting to see how they also take elements from the original, as live-action adaptations still try to keep some visual flourishes from the things they are adapting.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Shang-Chi’s Michelle Yeoh Reunites With Destin Daniel Cretton for ‘American Born Chinese’

    ‘Shang-Chi’s Michelle Yeoh Reunites With Destin Daniel Cretton for ‘American Born Chinese’

    It looks like the upcoming Disney+ series adaptation of American Born Chinese will become a Shang-Chi reunion, as Deadline reported that Michelle Yeoh will reunite with director Destin Daniel Cretton, who will direct the project. The series is part of 20th Television’s production for Disney Branded Television, which is eyeing a production start sometime this month in Los Angeles.

    It’ll adapt the Gene Luen Yang graphic novel with Kelvin Yu attached as its showrunner and executive producer. It’s unclear how many episodes Cretton will direct from the series, but is also acting as executive producer alongside Jake Kasdan, Erin O’Malley, Melvin Mar, and more. She joins a cast that consists of MacGyver‘s Ben Wang, Mortal Kombat‘s Chin Han, Daniel Whu (Reminiscience), Just Add Magic’s Sydney Taylore, Jim Liu, Ke Huy Quan (Finding Ohana), and Yeo Yann Yann (Wet Season).

    Source: Deadline

  • EXCLUSIVE: Start Date for Destin Daniel Cretton’s ‘American Born Chinese’

    EXCLUSIVE: Start Date for Destin Daniel Cretton’s ‘American Born Chinese’

    In October, it was revealed that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director, Destin Daniel Cretton, would direct an adaptation of American Born Chinese for Disney Plus. Now, we can exclusively reveal production is set for early 2022.

    Filming on the pilot episode of American Born Chinese, penned by Kelvin Yu and Charles Yu, will kick off in Los Angeles beginning in mid-February with the series continuing to film through June. Kelvin Yu serves as the showrunner on the series, which is an adaptation of the graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang.

    American Born Chinese tells the story of Jin Wang, a teenager who is juggling his high school social life and immigrant home life. After he meets a new foreign student on the first day of the school year, Jin finds himself wittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.

    Cretton and Yu will executive produce the series alongside Mar, Kasdan, Asher Goldstein and Yang. American Born Chinese was given a straight to series order, although the number of episodes has yet to be confirmed.

  • ‘Shang-Chi’s Destin Daniel Cretton to Direct ‘American Born Chinese’ for Disney+

    ‘Shang-Chi’s Destin Daniel Cretton to Direct ‘American Born Chinese’ for Disney+

    It looks like Shang-Chi’s director, Destin Daniel Cretton, has already found his next project. According to Deadline, he will adapt the action-comedy American Born Chinese for Disney+. It’s an adaptation of the 2006 graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. He’ll also act as executive producer for 20th Television alongside Bob Burger‘s exec Kelvin Yu and Charles Yu, who will write the series.

    Melvin Mar, Jake Kasdan, and Gene Luen Yang also will join the production as executive producers. Kelvin Yu will serve as its showrunner. They are currently preparing for casting. Disney Branded Television president, Ayo Davis, shared the following on the project:

    We are delighted to continue our relationship with Melvin Mar and Jake Kasdan and thrilled that Destin Daniel Cretton is set to direct. The team are visionaries in bringing character-driven adventures to life, and we cannot wait for our audience to experience this fantastically memorable and imaginative adaptation of the graphic novel. This is a great universal story that moves between worlds and explores the impact of culture, identity, and acceptance through the lens of adolescence.

    Ayo Davis

    Mar and Kasdan might be familiar to fans of the Fresh Off the Boat ABC series. They’ve recently expanded with the Disney+ original Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. Their work on the only Asian-American series to pass 100 episodes is a cultural landmark, and it’s great to see them continue it with American Born Chinese. Cretton’s hot off his success with Shang-Chi and the Legends of Ten Rings, which seems likely to get a sequel in the future after its box office success. It’ll be interesting to see if he will tackle it after this series wraps production.

    Source: Deadline