Michelle Yeoh (Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) has been cast in Disney+’s original series American Born Chinese. Ben Wang (MacGyver), Emmy Award nominee Yeo Yann Yann (Wet Season), Chin Han (Mortal Kombat), Daniel Wu (Reminiscence), Ke Huy Quan (Finding ‘Ohana), former Taekwondo champion Jim Liu, and Sydney Taylor (Just Add Magic) have also joined the cast of the upcoming action-comedy based on Gene Luen Yang’s popular graphic novel.
Disney+’s casting announcement included descriptions of the key characters:
- 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.
- Ben Wang as “Jin Wang,” an American teen whose parents immigrated from Taiwan, who is struggling to carve out exactly who he’s supposed to be socially and culturally.
- Yeo Yann Yann as Jin’s mom, “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.
- Jim Liu as Jin’s confident friend “Wei-Chen,” a teen who has just arrived in the United States, whose sweet demeanor belies the deeper mystery of his true identity.
- Sydney Taylor as “Amelia,” a friendly “All-American” girl who is Jin’s classmate and crush.
Emmy Award winner Kelvin Yu (Bob’s Burgers) is the showrunner and executive produces with graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang, Melvin Mar, Jake Kasdan, Erin O’Malley, and Asher Goldstein. Destin Daniel Cretton (Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) is directing and executive producing the 20th Television production.
Production is expected to begin in Los Angeles this month.
Disney+ released the following description of the series:
American Born Chinese tells the story of Jin Wang, an average teenager juggling his high school social life with his home life. When he meets a new foreign student on the first day of the school year, even more worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods. The action-packed coming-of-age adventure explores identity, culture, and family.
