Michelle Yeoh, Chin Han, Daniel Wu and more cast in Disney’s ‘American Born Chinese’

Disney has found its main cast for its upcoming series adaptation of American Born Chinese.

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The upcoming series’ cast was revealed via Variety on Monday (February 7), with major roles being portrayed by Asian heavyweights like Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Shang-Chi), Chin Han (The Dark Knight, Mortal Kombat) and Daniel Wu (Young And Dangerous: The Prequel, Tomb Raider) among others.

The Disney+ series will be based on Gene Luen Yang’s 2006 graphic novel the same name and will tell the story of a teenager named Jin Wang who struggles as a Chinese immigrant in an American high school.

Upon meeting a fellow foreign exchange student Wei-Chen, the two become embroiled in a historical battle of Chinese mythological gods, with themes of identity, culture and family woven in.

Jin Wang will be played by young star Ben Wang, while his fellow exchange student Wei-Chen is played by Jim Liu. Michelle Yeoh will portray Wei-Chen’s aunt, who has to maintain her secret identity as the Buddhist deity of Compassion, Guanyin.

Daniel Wu will play the legendary “Monkey King”, Sun Wukong from Chinese epic Journey To The West, while Ke Huy Wuan will play Freddy Wong, a fiction character from a popular ‘90s sitcom.

Jin’s parents, Christine and Simon, will be portrayed by Yeo Yann Yann and Chin Han respectively, while Jin’s crush Amelia will be played by Sydney Taylor.

The TV adaptation of American Born Chinese is being written and executive produced by show runner Kelvin Yu (Bob’s Burgers, Master Of None). Destin Daniel Cretton will direct and executive produce, marking his reunion with Michelle Yeoh – both of whom worked on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings together.

Melvin Mar and Jake Kasdan, who previously executive produced for Asian-American TV sitcom Fresh Off The Boat, will also executive produce for American Born Chinese.

Disney first ordered the American Born Chinese TV adaptation in October 2021. American Born Chinese has yet to receive a release date, but will stream exclusively on Disney+ upon its release.

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