''American Born Chinese'' is an upcoming

action comedy Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of actio ...

television series based on the graphic novel of the same name by

Gene Luen Yang Gene Luen Yang (Chinese Traditional: 楊謹倫, Simplified: 杨谨伦, Pinyin: ''Yáng Jǐnlún''; born August 9, 1973) is an American cartoonist. He is a frequent lecturer on the subjects of graphic novels and comics, at comic book conventions a ...

. Filming had begun in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

by February 2022. The series is set to premiere on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

in 2023.

Premise

Jin Wang, struggling with his school life and home life, meets the new foreign exchange student at his school, leading him to become involved in a battle between Gods of Chinese mythology.

Cast and characters

Michelle Yeoh Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, ( ; born 6 August 1962) is a Malaysian actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early Hong Kong films, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films where she performed her own ...

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

* Ben Wang as Jin Wang *

Yeo Yann Yann Yeo Yann Yann (born 20 February 1977) is a Malaysian actress. She has worked in theatre, television, and film. Her credits include ''Singapore Dreaming'', ''Thunderstorm'', '' 881'', ''Ilo Ilo'' and ''Wet Season''. She is a pioneer-graduate ...

as Christine Wang * Chin Han as Simon Wang *

Daniel Wu Daniel Ng Neh-Tsu (, born September 30, 1974) is an American actor, director and producer based in Hong Kong. He is known as a "flexible and distinctive" leading actor in the Chinese language film industry. Since his film debut in 1998, he has ...

Sun Wukong The Monkey King, also known as Sun Wukong ( zh, t=孫悟空, s=孙悟空, first=t) in Mandarin Chinese, is a legendary mythical figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel ''Journey to the West'' ( zh, ...

Ke Huy Quan Ke Huy Quan (born August 20, 1971), also known as Jonathan Ke Quan (), is a Vietnam-born American actor and stunt choreographer. Quan played Short Round in ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' (1984) and Data in ''The Goonies'' (1985)''.' ...

as Freddy Wong * Jim Liu as Wei-Chen * Sydney Taylor as Amelia *

Stephanie Hsu Stephanie Ann Hsu (born November 25, 1990) is an American actress. She originated the theatrical roles of Christine Canigula in ''Be More Chill'' and Karen the Computer in ''The SpongeBob Musical'', performing in the Broadway runs of both. On sc ...

Shiji Niangniang Shiji Niangniang () is a goddess in Chinese religion and Taoism. Before becoming goddess, she was a 10,000-year-old demoness. It was originally a stone and was born outside the heavens and the earth, during the Chaos era and the Xuanhuang era. S ...

* Poppy Liu as

Princess Iron Fan Princess Iron Fan () is a character from the 16th century Chinese novel ''Journey to the West''. She is the wife of the Bull Demon King and mother of Red Boy. She is one of the most popular ''Journey to the West'' villains, alongside her husband ...

Production

Development

On October 4, 2021, it was announced that

had greenlit an adaptation of the

graphic novel and ordered it straight to series, with

Destin Daniel Cretton Destin Daniel Cretton is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his films ''Short Term 12'' (2013), ''The Glass Castle'' (2017), ''Just Mercy'' (2019) and the Marvel Studios film ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' (2021). He has ...

directing and

Charles Yu Charles Chowkai Yu (born January 3, 1976) is an American writer. He is the author of the novels ''How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe'' and '' Interior Chinatown'', as well as the short-story collections ''Third Class Superhero'' ...

and

Kelvin Yu Kelvin Yu (born 1979) is an American actor and writer. Early life and education Yu was born to Yu Ming-chuan and Lin Ling-juan. He grew up in Los Angeles, where he currently resides. He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles ...

writing the series. On April 28, 2022, Asian-American fashion designers

Prabal Gurung Prabal Gurung ( ne, प्रवल गुरुङ) (born 1979) is a Singapore–born Nepalese–American fashion designer based in New York City. Early life and education Gurung was born on March 31, 1979, in Singapore to Nepali parents and ...

and

Phillip Lim Phillip Lim (born September 16, 1973, as Pheng Lim) is an American fashion designer of Chinese descent whose parents immigrated to America from Thailand during the Cambodian genocide. Lim co-founded and worked at the Los Angeles-based fashion labe ...

joined the series to work alongside costume designer Joy Cretton to create costumes.

Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress. Her accolades include winning a Critics' Choice Television Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Seoul International Drama Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award. Liu has star ...

confirmed she is a director on the series.

Casting

In February 2022, it was reported that

, Ben Wang,

, Chin Han,

Jonathan Ke Quan Ke Huy Quan (born August 20, 1971), also known as Jonathan Ke Quan (), is a Vietnam-born American actor and stunt choreographer. Quan played Short Round in ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' (1984) and Data in ''The Goonies'' (1985)''.'' ...

, Jim Liu, and Sydney Taylor were cast in starring roles.

joined the cast of the series in May, playing Shiji Niangniang, with Poppy Liu added in June.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began in Los Angeles on February 8, 2022 and wrapped on July 6, 2022.

Release

''American Born Chinese'' is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in 2023.

References

External links

* {{Disney+ original series Chinese American television English-language television shows Works by Destin Daniel Cretton Upcoming comedy television series Disney+ original programming American action comedy television series Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows based on comics Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television shows based on Journey to the West