Comic-cons are getting more diverse in terms of content and guests. While smaller in scale compared to its sister San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), Wondercon Anaheim still packs quality panels that allow locals, those unable to obtain tickets to SDCC, and even Disneyland visitors a taste of what the former offers. Coming just weeks after the historic Oscar wins for EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (EEAAO), Wondercon 2023 offered panels that tapped into diversity and martial arts in the media. Being a local with many friends who work in this industry, I went on a Wuxia-like journey to attend this convention on Saturday, March 25, 2023 and try to find any Kung Fu connections.
I attended Wondercon in 2022, with the most noteworthy Kung Fu-related panels for Immortal Studios. Akin to a Wuxia story, that is where I met Immortal Studios CEO Payhuan Shiao to discuss working for Immortal Studios. Because of this, I landed a role at Immortal and was introduced to KungFuMagazine’s very own Gene Ching whom I have the pleasure of calling “uncle.” While this was great for me, I felt that there could have been more options for the martial arts community. Martial arts play a big role in many comic stories Shang-Chi and Batman being prime examples), and I really hoped for more panels discussing this in the future.
Upon arriving at the Anaheim Convention Center this year, I noticed the Sony Pictures’ upcoming KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC advertised all over the front of the building. Besides that, free souvenir bags promoting the movie were given to attendees. I knew I was off to an interesting start, as this movie features noteworthy names within the martial arts film industry. The next step was to walk around the convention floor to see what is offered.
Countless cosplayers walked around the convention floor. While I could go on about the countless martial arts Anime character cosplayers, there were a couple of non-Anime ones that stood out. One involves the multitudes of cosplayers dressed as Shang Chi from the 2021 Marvel Studios movie of the same name. Perhaps owing to the relative simplicity of the character’s costume, it was nice to see some Kung Fu representation at Wondercon. The next noteworthy would be that of Harry Shum Jr’s character of Chad from EEAAO. It’s uncommon to see people cosplay as characters from films that won Best Picture, especially movies like this, so it was a delight.
After walking around the convention floor, I attended my first panel of the day: Diversity in Films and Awards Show. The panel included Jessica Tseang (pop culture historian) discussing the matter with Daniel Mah (fight choreographer and member of Martial Club), Sam Khushal (screenwriter), Sandro Morales-Santoro (music composer), and Boise Esquerra (screenwriter). The timing for this could not be more convenient, as Daniel Mah worked on the fight choreography of the Oscar winning EEAAO. He specifically mentioned how there was a time where many would not have expected a martial arts movie to win best picture at the Oscars, yet EEAAO changed that. He also spoke about how having more diverse films winning awards can influence the younger generations. In this case, children may be influenced to learn martial arts from this movie, and he compared it to how movies such as THE KARATE KID (1984) had that effect. Most of the conversation focused on how there is still a lot to work on regarding diversity in Hollywood, and that it is very important that the people behind the scenes, specifically writers, should relate to the story that they are telling. With the end of this panel, I waited in the same room for the next one.
The next panel was SAINT SEIYA & KNIGHTS OF THE ZODIAC 101. Known as SAINT SEIYA in Japan, Knights is based on a popular Japanese Manga and Anime franchise produced by Toei Animaton (the studio behind the DRAGONBALL Anime franchise). It stars Mackenyu, Mark Dacascos, Sean Bean, and Famke Janssen. For our old school martial arts film fans, Mackenyu is best known as the son of late Japanese actor Sonny Chiba. On a related note, he also portrayed Enishi Yukishiro in the 2021 live action manga movie adaptation RUROUNI KENSHIN: THE FINAL. This panel featured an introduction by Anime expert Dan Larson who went over the history of Knights, particularly with how the franchise succeeded in Europe and Latin America (where it was first exported), yet it failed in the United States. Once this introduction finished, the focus shifted on Stunt Coordinator Andy Cheng (of SHANG-CHI & RUSH HOUR fame) alongside his stunt team that included Team Red Pro (Joseph Le, Tarell Kota Bullock, Brandon H. Lee, & Jay Kwon), Brandon Belieu, and David Torok. A behind-the-scenes video was shown, with the team discussing what went on during filming without spoilers. Cheng mentioned that he attempted to create a recognizable move-set for Saint Seiya (Mackenyu) akin to Spider-Man’s web slinging move. Shortly afterwards, Brandon H. Lee performed the aforementioned move-set. While we wanted more details, the panel informed everyone that we would have to wait for the movie to release. This was the most packed panel of the three I attended, and I am genuinely excited to watch this on release date.
With the end of the second panel that I attended, I looked at what else was offered on the convention floor and met with friends. As a longtime Tokusatsu fan, I noticed the booth for Power Morphicon (a bi-annual Power Rangers convention) on the floor. It is currently the 30th anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise, so a few actors were present for meet and greets including Selwyn Ward (Power Rangers Turbo & In Space), Christopher Khayman Lee (Power Rangers in Space), Daniel Southworth (Power Rangers Time Force & BLADE OF THE 47 RONIN), and Andrew Gray (Power Rangers Megaforce & Bling Empire Season 1). While there was a Power Rangers panel that day, it conflicted with the next panel that I would attend.
The last panel I attended was the Spotlight on Gene Luen Yang. Yang is the author of the graphic novel AMERICAN BORN CHINESE, which has a Disney + series adaptation releasing in May 2023. The series features Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Daniel Wu, Chin Han, James Hong, Stephanie Hsu, and Ronny Chieng. The story is inspired by the classic novel Journey to the West and features most of the cast of EEAAO. I have yet to read the original graphic novel, but the premise of Journey to the West characters appearing in a modern high school setting is intriguing. While only previously released footage was shown, Yang shared some interesting notes prior to the production of this series. He shared that there was interest in adapting the novel more than a decade ago; however, that interested party knew nothing about the story and simply wanted to buy the rights to the title itself! He also mentioned how Quan was very hesitant to take on the role because he struggled to find meaningful roles in Hollywood. Only after the production team promised they would cast him in their next project did Quan agree to it. While this might seem ironic given his Oscar win, this conversation happened well before EEAAO was released. Lastly, Yang shared how the Disney + offer to adapt this graphic novel came right after he started writing the Monkey Prince comic for DC Comics. When it comes to Monkey King representation in comics, people will definitely turn to Yang.
With the end of the third panel I attended, I walked around the floor one last time and left shortly afterwards. While the convention did not offer as many free goods as in the past, I enjoyed the panels more than the previous year. Expectations for next year’s convention are higher, and I look forward to other conventions until then.
