Disney+’s upcoming film Chang Can Dunk wrapped production last week, according to a statement from Disney. The film follows Chang, a 16-year-old, Asian American high school student in the marching band, who bets the school basketball star that he can dunk by Homecoming. The bet leads the 5′ 8″ Chang on a quest to find the hops he needs to dunk in order to impress his crush, Kristy, and finally gain the attention and respect of his high school peers. But before he can rise up and truly throw one down, he’ll have to reexamine everything he knows about himself, his friendships and his family.
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Apparently, to lend authenticity to the film and properly represent “the dunk culture” (Disney’s wording, not ours), filmmakers hired one of the foremost dunk experts, Connor Barth, to help the actors train. The kid-friendly sports series should fit right in with Disney’s Mighty Ducks revival, which launched earlier this year and is set to have a second season in 2022, although without franchise star Emilio Estevez, who departed the series between seasons. While there were rumors he left because he refused to get vaccinated against covid-19, Estevez has disputed that, saying it was a more conventional contract dispute, born out of creative differences.
In addition to Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, Disney+ has teen-focused programming like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Bloom Li (My Dead Ex, Into the Dark) is playing the lead, Chang. Ben Wang (Good Egg, upcoming Sight) play’s Bo, Chang’s best friend. Wang was recently seen in Disney’s Launchpad short Dinner Is Served on Disney+. Dexter Darden (Son of the South, Saved by the Bell), a former pro basketball player and two-time Estonia League MVP, plays Deandre. Chase Liefeld (Sunnyside Up, upcoming Honor Student) plays Matt, the school’s star athlete. Zoe Renee (Jinn, The Quad) plays Kristy.
In his feature-film debut, Jingyi Shao is writing and directing from a script he wrote that placed second on last year’s Blacklist. Brad Weston is producing along with Emmy-winning Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani of Hillman Grad productions. Pamela Thur serves as executive producer.
