For fans of John Layman and Rob Guillory's comic book Chew who have been eagerly waiting the adventures of Tony Chu to get adapted for the small screen, here's a bit of an update on the proposed Chew television series. It's still in the works: "Chew" creators talk comics, television and the disgusting end.
Chew follows the bizarre adventures and exploits of FDA agent Tony Chu, who solves crimes by using his unusual power to see the psychic history of anything he eats -- including dead people. He literally takes a bite out of crime.
Last month at Fan Expo 2012, Layman and Guillory shared that a Chew TV series is still in the works as a pilot at Showtime, and if it was all up to them, they know who they'd pick to star in the show.
They've always said their top choice to play Tony Chu would be Ken Leung. They even based the character's look on Ken. While ultimately, the comic book creators don't have the final say of happens on the TV show, they at least have assurances that the series will star an Asian American actor:
"Chew" is currently in production as a television pilot on Showtime, and the creators already have an idea who they'd like to play Tony Chu. They want Ken Leung, who played Miles Straume on "Lost."Chew is a really weirdly fun and gross comic book. It would be pretty damn rad to see this all come together just right. I would love to see Ken Leung star as Tony Chu. I guess we'll just have to keep waiting, fingers crossed.
Layman, eager after he had won an Eisner Award, started sending copies to Leung's manager and mentioning his name in interviews. Two weeks later, Layman received an email straight from Leung.
"A week later I got another one, saying he was rereading it, and giving it to other ‘Lost’ cast members," Layman said, though he admitted he has no control over casting decisions. "Now I talk to Ken a couple times a year by email, knowing we have no power... We have no assurances beyond that it will have an Asian-American lead."