The representation of Asians in Hollywood is under fire again, this time for Raya and the Last Dragon. Disney dropped the trailer, which features several stars of Asian descent, and Kelly Marie Tran, Sandra Oh, Awkwafina, Daniel Dae Kim and Gemma Chan.
But, as people noticed on social media, the film is set in Southeast Asia, but features many actors of East Asian ancestry. Southeast Asia is comprised of 11 countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Tran is Vietnamese, but other cast mates are of Chinese and Korean descent.
“A friendly reminder that actual South-East Asians are not thrilled for Raya and the Last Dragon,” one person tweeted. “They basically put the whole region in a blender and hired so little south-east Asian actors for the roles. It sucks, it feels like Disney didn't care to respect us.”
Another tweeted, “I am actually very conflicted about the new Raya and the Last Dragon casting. I love all those cast members. But basically everyone, except KMT is East Asian. Imagine how big it would be they actually casted Southeast Asian actors. SE Asian actors are sorely lacking in Hollywood.”