Disney+ takes graphic novel American Born Chinese to series

American Born Chinese

US-based SVoD Disney+ has greenlit American Born Chinese, an action-comedy series based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang.

The show will be a Disney Branded Television series produced by 20th Television, formerly 20th Century Fox Television.

The series and book are about Jin Wang, a Chinese-American kid struggling to fit in with US life. However, when he meets another foreign student one day his world is plunged into chaos as the two are entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.

The series will be directed and executive produced by Destin Daniel Cretton, known for Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Kelvin Yu, Charles Yu, Asher Goldstein, Melvin Mar, Jake Kasdan and Gene Luen Yang are also executive producers, with Kelvin Yu as showrunner.

Mar and Kasdan are known for their work on the recent Jumanji films and have a deal with 20th Television to make new comedies and dramas.

Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television said: “The team are visionaries in bringing character-driven adventures to life, and we cannot wait for our audience to experience this fantastically memorable and imaginative adaptation of the graphic novel.”