American Born Chinese will include references to notable superheroes from Marvel, DC and manga.
The first trailer for the series introduces viewers to Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a teen struggling to fit in at high school, who is forced to befriend exchange student Wei-Chen (Jim Liu). However, he soon learns that Wei-Chen is caught up in a war involving multiple figures from Chinese mythology. In the trailer is a brief glimpse of Jin's bedroom which includes a Captain America graphic novel, as well as action figures of DC's Superman and Goku from Dragon Ball Z.
Disney+'s American Born Chinese is based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name by author and illustrator Gene Luen Yang, who has previously explained his personal love of superheroes and how it related to his experience as the son of immigrants.
American Born Chinese's Superhero Influence
"At the heart of the superhero genre is this blending of the fantastic and the mundane," Yang said. "I think that really reflects the Asian-American experience in particular and the immigrant child's experience in general. Many of us feel like we live in between two different worlds. For me, when I was a kid I spoke one language at home and another one at school. I have one name at home and another one at school. I lived under two different sets of cultural expectations."
Disney announced it would be adapting American Born Chinese in 2021, with Kelvin Yu serving as showrunner and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton executive producing and directing. In addition to Wang and Liu, the main cast includes Yeo Yann Yann and Chin Han as Jin's parents, Sydney Taylor as his crush Amelia, Michelle Yeoh as Guanyin the Bodhisattva, Daniel Wu as Sun Wukong the Monkey King and Ke Huy Quan as former sitcom actor Freddy Wong.
American Born Chinese is set to feature an all-star cast. Along with Academy Award winners Yeoh and Quan as series regulars, the cast includes Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Ronny Chieng, Jimmy O. Yang, James Hong, Leonard Wu, Poppy Liu, Lisa Lu and Rosalie Chiang.
Speaking with CBR, Yu explained the importance of Asian-American representation in modern media. He also elaborated on how the landscape of the entertainment industry has changed since American Born Chinese was first published. "We are living in a different world, quantitatively, right now, and yet, I would say that the first phase of diversity is to get more color on the screen, get more faces on the screen," he said.
"Now that audiences are watching, you have the opportunity to tell different stories. We are trying to be part of that next wave where the stories are a little bit unexpected, and we are using all the tools in front of us. If people like Shang-Chi, and a lot of people did, they might tune into something like this."
All eight episodes of American Born Chinese will release on May 24 on Disney+.
Source: YouTube