Lucy Liu to star as Charlie Chan’s granddaughter

After 25 years of absence, the Charlie Chan character is returning to cinemas in the form of Kill Bill actress Lucy Liu. Liu will play the granddaughter of the fictional Chinese-American detective. The film is yet to be named.

The character was invented by Earl Derr Biggers back in 1919, and a series of books that he wrote were adapted in to multiple movies throughout the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Charlie Chan was a detective for the Honolulu Police Department. Chan in his signature white fedora and suit would stumble upon a murder mystery in an exotic locale and solve the case in spite of the inept efforts of his assistants.

TV executive-turned-screenwriter Dan McDermott will write an updated version of Charlie Chan for 20th Century Fox. Producer Jennifer Klein also has joined the long-gestating project, which Lucy Liu will executive produce.

“It’s a reinvention of the franchise that credibly passes on the baton to Lucy Liu as the lead character and lead of the franchise,” McDermott said.

A movie insider says: “With Lucy on board, the feeling is this could be a real hit. There’s even talk of a new actor taking on the role of the original Charlie Chan for a cameo appearance.” The original Chan character was played by Swedish actor Warner Orland - a casting which was criticised because Orland was not of Chinese descent.

The original stories, by Earl Derr Biggers, are just one source being used by Dan McDermott, who’s writing the screenplay. He’s also writing John Moore’s The Omen remake, The Omen 666.

Liu will get plenty of screen time in the near future with roles in Tony Scott’s bounty hunter film “Dominoâ€?, the indie drama “3 Needlesâ€?, the thriller “Lucky Number Slevinâ€?, the vampire film Rise, New Line’s comedy “The Cleanerâ€? and thriller “Devil to Payâ€?.

By the way, Charlie Chan was based on a real person, Chang Apana, a Hawaiian police detective who died in 1933.