Following the success of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings earlier this fall, director Destin Daniel Cretton has lined up his next project. Via Deadline, Cretton will direct and executive produce a live-action series based on Gene Luen Yang’s 2006 graphic novel, American Born Chinese.
The series is described as “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 student on the first day of the school year, even more worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods. The action-comedy explores issues of identity, culture and family.”
However, the original graphic novel took place in a three different time periods. The first followed the Monkey King’s adventures in the distant past. The second followed Jin Wang’s attempts to find his place at a new school. And the final time period followed Daniel, a student haunted by his cartoonishly stereotypical cousin, Chin-Kee. There is also a connection between the three time periods, which we won’t spoil here.
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Kelvin Yu (Bob’s Burgers) is the showrunner of the series. Yu is also co-writing and executive producing the series alongside his brother, Charles Yu (Westworld). Additionally, Yang is executive producing the show alongside Melvin Mar and Jake Kasdan.
“I feel so lucky to be working with this team,” said Yang in a statement. “Melvin Mar is a man with a vision, and I’m deeply grateful that he took this project under his wing. Kelvin Yu is a phenomenal talent. His script brings to television everything I wanted to get across in my book. And Destin Cretton… who in America isn’t a fan of Destin Cretton right now? I can’t wait for him to bring his signature blend of action and heart to the show.”
“Reading Kelvin’s riveting adaptation of Gene’s incredible novel had me laughing and crying and jumping out of my chair on every page,” added Cretton. “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.”
According to Deadline, casting will also begin soon.
Are you intrigued by the premise of American Born Chinese? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
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