Here’s your first look at Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan in American Born Chinese
Disney Plus' American Born Chinese,based on the graphic novels of the same name, arrives this spring
TV News Yeoh
It’s an Everything Everywhere All At Once reunion. Disney+’s upcoming drama will assemble the lead trio as Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu star in Disney+’s American Born Chinese. At the Television Critics Association’s (TCA) 2023 winter press tour, the streaming platform shared a first look at Yeoh and Quan’s characters.
American Born Chinese is based on Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novels of the same name. The coming-of-age series follows Jin Wang (Ben Wang), who struggles with his home and school life. However, the arrival of foreign exchange student Wei-Chen (Jim Liu) disrupts everything because Jin becomes involved in a battle between the Gods of Chinese mythology.
Yeoh, who won a Golden Globe for her EEAAO performance earlier this week, plays Guanyin, a Goddess known for mercy and compassion. Her co-star and fellow Globes winner Quan plays Freddy Wong, a former actor whose viral video brings him into the spotlight again. The cast includes Hsu, Yeo Yann Yann, Poppy Liu, Chin Han, and Daniel Wu.
At the show’s TCA panel, Disney+ revealed the first photos.
Quan, who returned to acting with EEAAO and American Born Chinese after three decades, told reporters he’s grateful for Hollywood’s progress in recent years. “When I started, it was difficult to be an Asian actor. There weren’t a lot of opportunities. I worked behind the camera for many years and was content, but the landscape has changed drastically now,” Quan said, adding: “I have to thank Michelle Yeoh for that.”
For her part, Yeoh told reporters that she was drawn to American Born Chinese partly because of executive producer Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed her in Shang-Chi. “It’s also time to share more of our culture,” she added.
American Born Chinese’s first season is set to premiere on Disney+ in spring 2023.
51 Comments
Quan plays Freddy Wong, a former actor whose viral video brings him into the spotlight again.They couldn’t pick any other name for his character? Freddy Wong is a well known viral youtuber whose been popular on Youtube for like 12 years.https://www.youtube.com/@rocketjump
…and? There are plenty of people with that name. Are we supposed to avoid using names of…checks notes…fucking Youtubers now?
I straight up thought they were talking about the same person for a second.
I had to do a double take when I read it lol. It’s not too late to change his name Disney. Coincidences happen, but this is waaaaaaay too similar to the real person and I wouldn’t be surprised if the writer that came up with his character was subconsciously thinking about the real Freddy.
I wonder if they’d reached out to the real person and asked if they could have a fictional version of the character named after him and in some ways similar and for all we know other ways deliberately radically different. It happens sometimes.
The graphic novel came out in 2006, so I’m calling bullshit.
Who cares? Surely you have encountered two people (fictional or real) with the same name before. It’s okay.
The name isn’t the problem. It’s the fact that his character is apparently a viral video maker, presumably on a website like youtube, just like the real person. It may be a coincidence, it may be that the write subconsciously based the character on the real Freddy, either way, it’s clear that the similarities go beyond the same name.
Did you know that the wrestler and the Six Million Dollar Man are not the same dude? Somehow, we survived.
No, we’re all actually dead. Don’t you know? The similarities caught my attention. I really don’t care, you can continue to not care, and we can move on.
Happy to move on, but a bit late to now pretend that this isn’t a thing for you, friend.
The only thing I’m pretending to do is tolerating you.
That guy is hilarious, he’s the angriest/pissiest guy on the internet. I love pointing out the ridiculousness whenever I have time.
He certainly seems like the type of person who knows he’s an asshole, but doesn’t care.
Yeah, they spent way less on the cybernetic upgrades for the wrestler.
Lady Antebellum might have something to say in response.
If she did, it would be fucking dumb, because that isn’t remotely the subject at hand.
Isn’t it?
Every major studio has worked their arses off for decades to minimise the chances of a real person sharing the name of their fictional characters in order to avoid litigation, even if their character has zero similarity to the real person. It’s one of the reasons so many fictional characters have unusual names.Disney giving a fictional viral video maker the exact same name as a real viral video maker opens them to litigation. Either they got sloppy, or they’re just tacitly admitting they’re the 800lb gorilla.
Will she demonstrate her martial artistry?
If you play piano while she is talking, you will find out.
Disney Plus’ American Born Chinese,based on the graphic novels of the same name, arrives this springThere needs to be a space after the comma.
I think it’s the italics making the font look crappy.
No, similar mistakes are showing up in many (but not all) of the other subheads.
However, the arrival of foreign exchange student Wei-Chen (Jim Liu)
disrupts everything because Jin becomes involved in a battle between the
Gods of Chinese mythology. Boy did that sentence take a turn.
Ke Huy Quan is a washed-up actor. Michelle Yeoh is the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Standard Bildungsroman archetypes really.
Casting them as a pair again this soon is an eye roll.
The eye roll should be directed at an industry that hasn’t elevated enough Chinese actors for the variety of castings you suggest you want, and at you for reading this article and deciding that they are a “pair” in this series, despite the description suggesting nothing of the kind.
Oh you’re calling others unholy???do me! do me!
Pardon?
Pardon?
It’s a word that generally indicates the speaker didn’t understand whatever the fuck you just said. I wrote it because your comment made no sense, but it appears that was by design.
Right? I mean I don’t know what’s going to happen on the show but it says Yeoh is playing Guanyin, who is like *the* supreme goddess, while Quan is playing a washed up actor/YouTuber. Seem unlikely they’ll be a pair, and the original story has multiple unrelated plot lines so they might not even have scenes together.
Michelle Yeoh is Malaysian, which is roughly 1,000 miles from China
Okay, fair, although she sure lived and worked in Hong Kong for a long time.
Everything you say is an eye roll.
To be fair, sometimes it’s something their dad says that causes the eyeroll.
But they’re not a pair in this?
The Quanaissance continues to pick up speed!
But the graphic novel is all from the kid’s POV.
Yeah, they don’t really sound like they are doing the graphic novel.
Why is Disney kissing China’s butt? They won’t even release Disney movies there.
What are you talking about? The graphic novel was a National Book Award finalist. It won a Printz and an Eisner and a bunch of other awards. It was a really big deal, and it’s about the experiences of being a Chinese-American teen feeling split between two identities and belonging to neither. It isn’t pandering to anyone to adapt a widely celebrated story that an author wrote about his own experiences. Christ.Plus, the very title of the work is explicit that the main character is American. It’s right in the damn name. Couldn’t even come up with a good mask for your own racism. Geez.
“ But minorities existing. 🙁 “
Would you surprised to learn that people if Chinese decent live all over the world.If Disney cast Mark Walberg in a film would you accuse them of kissing Irelands butt?
Not a single mention of China here, bud.
Shut up, no one wants to hear your bigoted shit
yeah, doubt anybody of Chinese descent works at Disney, for sure. When Disney releases a show about a black person, did you know that they are sucking up to Africa, too? Don’t even get me started on the IRISH!!!
Imagine being racist instead of getting excited over more Michelle Yeoh.
These two have already jumped the shark.Fuck Hollywood loves beating a dead horse.
Ke Huy Quan should be in everything from now on.