Netflix Announces Three New Asian American-Led Projects Coming in 2023

Netflix released some details for three new upcoming projects led by Asian Americans for 2023.

The three projects will consist of an animated film titled, “The Monkey King,” and two animated series, “Mech Cadets” and “Boons and Curses.” The former is a CG action and the latter is a 2D animated comedy, according to Netflix.

“The Monkey King”: Inspired by the famous Chinese legend, the film is executively produced by legendary filmmaker Stephen Chow, known for his works “Kung Fu Hustle” and “Shaolin Soccer,” and produced by Peilin Chou and Kendra Haaland.

“The Monkey King” will feature an all-Asian voice cast, including Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Jo Koy, Ron Yuan, Hoon Lee, Stephanie Hsu, Andrew Pang, Andrew Kishino, Jodi Long, James Sie and BD Wong.
“The Monkey King has endured for generations with his unique character and spirit,” Chow said. “I’m so excited to be collaborating with Tony, Peilin, and everyone at Netflix to bring this joyful tale to audiences worldwide!”

“Mech Cadets”: The show is based on the Boom! Studios comic book series “Mech Cadet Yu” created by Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa.

“Mech Cadets” follows Stanford Yu, a teenager who works as a janitor at the Sky Corps Military Academy. His dream is to pilot a Robo Mech, and when he finally gets his shot, he and his classmates must put all their differences aside to defend the planet against an alien invasion.

“Boons and Curses”: The comedy-action animated series, created by Jaydeep Hasrajani, takes inspiration from ancient South Asia and highlights the myths and legends that have enraptured generations.

“Boons and Curses” takes place in the magical land of Maya, where war looms on the horizon as the Raj and his monstrous army threatens to destroy everything that stands in their way. It is up to the two heroes, Baan and Rani, to stop Raj and his army.
“Growing up, I used to think of the hyphen in ‘Indian-American’ as a separator between two parts of myself,” Hasrajani, who is also a co-executive producer of the show, said. “With Boons and Curses, I want to turn that hyphen from a wall into a bridge, not just for me, but for anybody who has ever felt that they were caught between two worlds.”

Netflix recently started a campaign for AAPI Heritage Month, featuring AAPI films and talent in a feature collection, NextShark previously reported.

Featured Image via @the_drago_effect (left) and takmiyazawa art TV (right)

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