After vying forAli Wong’s affections inAlways Be My Maybe,Daniel Dae KimandRandall Parkare set to star in an untitled heist movie in the works at Amazon that will feature a largely Asian-American cast.
Young Il Kim, who wrote theHillary ClintonbiopicRodhamthat was voted to the 2012 Black List, is set to pen the script, which will follow a group of high school friends reuniting to pull off a heist in a nod to fun ensemble capers such asOcean’s 11.
Multiple suitors were vying for the project, which is based on an original idea from Kim, Park andJohn Cheng, who spearheads development at Kim’s production company 3AD. The three of them will also produce the project. 3AD has a first-look TV deal at Amazon, though this heist project doesn’t fall under that since it’s a movie.
Young Il Kim toldDeadlinethat the script “has nods toOcean’s 11,The Full Montyas well asBetter Luck Tomorrow,” explaining that “it’s a story that kind of highlights community, friendship [and] unity in a very familiar genre that people I think will enjoy.” “We want to be inclusive and we feel like there’s a story here to be told,” he added.
The screenwriter also told Deadline that he was encouraged by the bidding war sparked by the project. “There is an appetite to see this kind of a movie with an Asian-American cast, and that is a really promising sign of the times,” said Kim. Meanwhile, the film’s two stars said in a joint statement that they “can’t wait to join with Young to tell this special story of friendship, pride and community.”
Kim is best known for his starring turns onLostandHawaii Five-O, though he also appeared in Best picture winnerCrashand the twoDivergentsequels, as well as the comic book moviesHulkandSpider-Man 2. He’ll soon be seen alongsideAnna KendrickandToni Collettein the sci-fi movieStowaway. Park’s credits includeThe Interview,Fresh Off the BoatandVeep, as well as the comic book moviesAnt-Man and the WaspandAquaman. He’s also set to reprise his MCU role on the Disney+ seriesWandaVision. Meanwhile, Young Il Kim served as a writer onBillionsand also worked on Lionsgate’sSeoul Girls, as well as several projects for CJ Entertainment, the South Korean company behindParasite.
Speaking of which, movies likeParasiteandCrazy Rich Asianshave proven there’s an audience out there for films with Asian and Asian-American leads, while movies like Netflix’sTo All the Boys I’ve Loved Beforeand Amazon’sLate Nighthave seen strong viewership numbers on streaming services. We’ll see ifMulanperforms up to Disney’s expectations when it launches on Disney+ in a few weeks at a rental price of $29.99. For more details onMulan,click here, and to watch the trailer forAlways Be My Maybe, which was super sweet and boasts a killer cameo,click here.
