Disney’s D23 Expo is in full swing, giving fans new looks at various projects on the horizon and on Saturday, that meant a first look at American Born Chinese, the upcoming Disney+ series based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang. A new featurette for the series was released, not only giving fans their first look at the action of the series, but the behind the scenes of it all as well for the series that star Ben Wang says, “explores culture and identity through the lens of adolescence”. You can check the featurette out for yourself in the video below.
Videos by ComicBook.com
American Born Chinese tells the story of Jin Wang, an average teenager juggling his high school social life with his immigrant home life. When he meets a new foreign exchange student, Wei-Chen, on the first day of the school year, even more words collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods. The show is a genre-hopping action-comedy that explores issues of identity, culture, and family. In the series, Stephanie Hsu will play Shiji Niangniang, the Goddess of Stones, who works in a modern-day jewelry shop with her magical dog. Michelle Yeo plays Guanyin, the unassuming auntie who helps nephew Wei-Chen (Jim Liu) navigate American high school whilst maintaining her own secret identity as the powerful bodhisattva of Compassion. Ke Huy Quan plays Freddy Wong, a fictional character from a popular sitcom. Daniel Wu plays Sun Wukong/The Monkey King, and Sydney Taylor plays Amelia.
“Reading Kelvin’s riveting adaptation of Gene’s incredible novel had me laughing and crying and jumping out of my chair on every page,” director Destin Daniel Cretton said previously. “I feel deeply connected to the characters in this story and the brilliant team bringing it to life. This show is going to be unlike anything we’ve experienced on TV, and I can’t wait for the world to see what we’re cooking up.”
“Gene Luen Yang’s book is a staple in American literature, and deeply important to a whole generation of readers,” Yu said. “Destin and Melvin are storytellers working at the highest level imaginable. It’s all so exciting and so humbling to be a part of.”
“This has been a labor of love for Melvin Mar, and like the force of nature he is, the team he has assembled in Kelvin, Destin and Jake is as inspired and otherworldly as Gene’s beautiful graphic novel,” added 20th Television President Karey Burke. “We are so proud to be their studio and grateful to Ayo and everyone at Disney Branded Television and Disney+ for their belief in this series.”
American Born Chinese does not yet have a release date.
