Netflix Orders The Monkey King with Asian Voice Cast
Earlier today, Netflix announced three new animated projects that will be coming to the streaming [...]
Earlier today, Netflix announced three new animated projects that will be coming to the streaming platform, with one of them being based on the classic story that has inspired several animated series over the years, Journey to the West, in The Monkey King. With the story created in the sixteenth century during China's Ming Dynasty, Journey to the West has been an inspiration for the likes of Dragon Ball, The God of High School, and so many others.
The upcoming animated movie will be executively produced by Stephen Chow, who actually created a movie following the original story in Journey to the West: Conquering Demons in 2013. Having created some classic martial arts comedies with Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer, it definitely seems as if this upcoming animated series is in good hands. The movie will be following the titular Monkey King and his "fighting stick" which many will recognize as the inspiration for Son Goku and his "Power Pole" that is so recognizable within the world of anime.
Netflix used their Official Twitter Account to not only announce that upcoming arrival of The Monkey King, but also took the opportunity to break down the "All Asian voice cast" which will help in giving fans a new interpretation of the classic tale that has inspired countless stories:
Inspired by China's famous legend Journey to the West, THE MONKEY KING tells the story of a very special Monkey, and his magical fighting Stick, who team up to fight against gods, demons, dragons, and the greatest enemy of all, Monkey's own hubris!
— Netflix Family (@netflixfamily) May 20, 2021
THE MONKEY KING features all-Asian voice talent of Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Jo Koy, Ron Yuan, Hoon Lee, Stephanie Hsu, Andrew Pang, Andrew Kishino, Jodi Long, James Sie and BD Wong.
— Netflix Family (@netflixfamily) May 20, 2021
On top of this announcement, Netflix also debuted preview images for both Mech Cadets and Boons and Curses, which will also be added to the ever-expanding roster of original animated series that have helped the streaming service compete with the likes of Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu to name a few.
What is your favorite property that was based on the original story of Journey To The West? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Netflix's original animated series.