The China Factor: How China is changing Star Wars

            “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” opens in the world’s second biggest box-office market this weekend: China. Disney, like every other studio, wants their films to be successful in that market. Because the Chinese government limits the number of foreign films that can be imported into its country each year, studios often go to drastic measures to ensure that they are even allowed into the market.

            If you want to see the lengths that Disney will kowtow to the Chinese film market, look no further than Iron Man 3. When I saw Iron Man 3 in Chinese cinemas, I was surprised to see that there was an entire Chinese subplot written into the film especially for Chinese audiences. This subplot was only available to Chinese movie-goers. The scenes include a doctor named “Mr. Wu” who only appears briefly in the American version of the film. In these scenes Mr. Wu and a nurse speak to each other entirely in Chinese, with no English subtitles. They also managed to squeeze in a somewhat overt product placement for Chinese milk.

            Zootopia is another example of how Disney is giving nods to other film markets. A moose news anchor, Peter Moosebrige (voiced by news-anchor Peter Mansbridge), is present in the US and Canadian version of the film, but jump to China and the news anchor is a Panda bear. Jump to Australia and it’s a Koala. Brazil- a Jaguar. Japan- a Tanuki.

            Now what does this all have to do with Star Wars? Enter Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus. It is no coincidence that two Chinese characters play a big roll in Rogue One. Disney did not just cast actors of Chinese decent to play this duo, Disney made sure to cast two giant names from the China film industry. Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen are indeed famous actors in China, but they are also both very well known directors there as well.

            Donnie Yen’s character, Chirrut Imwe, isn’t just a diverse face. The character is directly inspired by Asian culture. He carries a staff and is the first cinematic Star Wars character to practice martial arts. I think this proves Disney’s intentions to appeal to the Chinese audience.

            So how should we feel about the Chinese-ification of the Star Wars universe? Pretty good, actually. Star Wars will need an Asian audience to succeed in the years ahead. Disney can’t pump out one Star Wars film a year for the next several decades unless you have the Chinese market on your side. And besides, Star Wars is a diverse universe. The films have always featured humans, aliens, droids, cyborgs, and monsters. The story is accessible to everyone, and everyone should be included.

As Rogue One opens in China this weekend Disney will watching carefully.  If it can overcome the lackluster performance of “The Force Awakens” in that country, it could spell good news for the House of Mouse. It could also mean that their inclusion of famous Chinese actors paid off.