Benedict Wong On Helping Build the World of The Russo Brothers' 'Deadly Class'

A far cry from the benevolent warrior of Doctor Strange's Wong, Marvel Universe standout Benedict Wong is coming to TV as Master Lin, the head of Deadly Class's King's Dominion boarding school -- and he's taking no prisoners.

The series pilot starts with a scene in which Lin smashes his walking stick into the face of a teenage girl, bloodying her nose, after she passes a note in class. That she later turns out to be a Neo-Nazi passing a racist note to a Latinx student might mitigate some of the horror on the part of the audience, but Wong says Brandy's gang affiliation would not matter to Lin at all.

"Nazi or no Nazi, I think Lin wants no disruptions," Wong told ComicBook.com during a recent interview. "That is his discipline, his way. That's it, and he wants everyone to be attentive to that. And I think what was great was hearing the gasps of the audience [at New York Comic Con]. They went, 'Oh!.' That collective gasp. Because it's like, right off the bat, they know we're not f---ing around. That's basically it, and that's pretty good. Within in the first five minutes, you start: this is what happens. And then we move on from that."

Deadly Class is being showrun by Rick Remender, who wrote the comic on which it is based, along with producer Miles Orion Feldsott. It will debut early next year on SYFY, and while it is a different kind of role than many fans are used to seeing Wong in, the actor was taken in by the worldbuilding.

"My job is to get out of the way and just allow Rick and Miles's world to be realized," Wong said. "They're strong characters. You've got this connection that happens between Marcus and Willie. It's like boys hamming up, being vulnerable. I know Lin said there's strength in power. There's strength in vulnerability, and this is that. There's a real connection there, what they have. I mean, obviously, through the story."

Unlike his previous collaborations on comics projects, Wong gets to be a big part of building that world this time. Whereas by the time he came to Doctor Strange, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was already a juggernaut, here he gets to help shape the identity of Deadly Class.

"It's great to start from the beginning -- the seed of it all from the ground up," Wong said. "It's fantastic still on so many different levels, where you've got Rick's world being realized, they've got an exceptional ensemble, cracking directors, got a great team behind us all up in Vancouver. Everybody loves coming to work. That's great. We've got the omnipresence of the Russos behind us, as well. I am excited to work with them again on this, especially we've got the great components of making a great series. It's been fantastic to have an audience to see the work, hear their reaction. It's a natural reaction. It's been great."

Deadly Class will premiere on January 16, 2019, on SYFY.