Today, I received the interesting bit of news that they've added an Asian male character to cast -- on the side of the good guys. And he's described, literally, as a "badass commando." Here's the character description from casting:
[SMITH] Asian, 35-50s. One of the surviving members of Tanner's Special Ops team, this badass commando is also amazed by the raw courage of Jed and his fellow Wolverines. He joins with Jed and Tanner on a perilous mission to infiltrate the enemy's stronghold.It seems that the Erica Yu, "the 17-year-old knockout Asian American captain of the cheerleading squad" from the original script has been scrubbed white, and will be played a very Caucasian Isabel Lucas. I suppose Smith is sort of the replacement Asian Good Guy.
The addition of an Asian American character on the side of the Wolverines make a small difference. But not much. I mean, you have the entire nation of China as the bad guys -- how do make a movie that's not perceived as racist? In the end, it's still America versus the evil invading Asian horde.
Basically, the lone Asian Good Guy just makes it easier for producers to say, "Hey! Our movie's not racist -- we have an Asian Good Guy. And hey, we've given him a really, really White American name." Did you see Rambo? Why do I get the feeling this character going to die a bloody-but-heroic death?
Hey Roger, I know you've had a bad experience with Red Dawn thus far... but maybe this Smith role is for you!
