Disney just revealed the cast list for its upcoming streaming adaptation of Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese and it’s stacked. Superstar Michelle Yeoh, who is poised to have an amazing 2022 already, stars alongside Into the Badlands’ Daniel Wu, Mortal Kombat’s Chin Han, and Goonies and Indiana Jones star Ke Huy Quan, and that’s not even getting into the leads.
Executive produced by Daniel Destin Cretton, who released last year’s Marvel hit Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, American Born Chinese follows a young man named Jin Wang. He’s a typical teenager going through all the perils of high school when his life is flipped upside down by Wei-Chen, a new student he meets at school. Wei-Chen’s family has a long storied history and together, the pair become part of a mythical war between Chinese gods… while still in high school.
Ben Wang (MacGyver) is playing Jin Wang and newcomer Jim Liu is Wei-Chen. Here’s how the rest of the cast breaks down, as per a Disney press release.
- Michelle Yeoh as “Guanyin,” an unassuming auntie, who helps her nephew Wei-Chen navigate the challenges of American high school while maintaining her secret identity as the all-powerful Buddhist bodhisattva of Compassion.
- Yeo Yann Yann as Jin’s mum, “Christine Wang,” a strong-willed, opinionated woman with a sly wit, who loves her family deeply.
- Chin Han as Jin’s father, “Simon Wang,” a hard-working, devoted father and husband who is bumping up against the “bamboo ceiling” at his job.
- Daniel Wu as Sun Wukong “The Monkey King,” the legendary, all-powerful god of the Chinese epic Journey to the West, who enters our world in search of his son.
- Ke Huy Quan as “Freddy Wong,” a fictional character from a popular mid-1990s sitcom.
- Sydney Taylor as “Amelia,” a friendly “All-American” girl who is Jin’s classmate and crush.
Production on what’s being described as a “genre-hopping action-comedy” begins later this month. In addition to Cretton, who’ll direct the show, Emmy winner Kelvin Yu of Bob’s Burgers fame will showrun and Melvin Mar and Jake Kasdan (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level) join them as executive producers alongside Erin O’Malley (Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.), Asher Goldstein (Short Term 12), and Gene Luen Yang.
No word on when the show will debut on Disney+ but you can be sure we’ll learn more in the coming months, most likely at the D23 Expo in August.