Destin Daniel Cretton, the director of Marvel’s Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, is set to helm a new TV show based on the popular graphic novel American Born Chinese. The director, who also produces and writes, is embarking on a new challenge; serialized television. Cretton recently directed Marvel’s first Asian-led superhero movie, which is now in theaters and taking a hefty box office sum.
According to Vulture, Cretton will direct and be an executive producer on the 20th Century Television project, which will release on Disney+. The action-comedy series is based on a popular 2006 graphic novel, American Born Chinese, written by Gene Luen Yang. The story follows high schooler Jin Wang, a Chinese-American teenager who finds himself embroiled in a fantastical battle with ancient Chinese legends and Gods.
The original novel involves elements of Chinese mythology and deals with themes of identity, culture, and family. Praised by critics and used for educational purposes in schools in the late 2000s, American Born Chinese also won multiple awards, including the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album. Destin Daniel Cretton has never directed for TV before; however, Shang-Chi was praised for its use of Asian mythology and legends, intertwined with family superhero action, making him a seemingly perfect fit for this new adaptation.
No release date is set yet for the new series, but more pre-production news about American Born Chinese will probably trickle out soon.
Source: Vulture