R. F. Kuang has revealed her dream casting for a film adaptation of her bestselling novel Yellowface. Meanwhile, the lead duo she’s chosen are two actresses we definitely want to see onscreen together.
Kuang published Yellowface earlier this year, and it quickly became a New York Times bestseller, with its satirical and darkly humorous take on the publishing industry and cultural appropriation. The novel follows June Hayward, a writer who has been struggling to get her foot in the door and envies the success of her friend and author Athena Liu.
When Liu passes away after a freak accident, Hayward steals her unfinished book, a work on the Chinese Labour Corps, and publishes it under her own name. Success isn’t what it seems, though, especially when she’s haunted by her deceased friend and crumbling under the weight of all her lies.
Yellowface brilliantly tackles the growing issue of cultural appropriation in art, including the publishing industry. There’s a growing misconception that publishers are specifically looking for diverse talents and that white people are being left behind in this push for diversity. Of course, the data routinely shows that this is not the case at all, especially in publishing, where over 75% of authors are white.
Still, white authors will go through lots of mental gymnastics to victimize themselves or blame their lack of success on imaginary reverse racism. With this in mind, Yellowface’s premise isn’t that far-fetched. Its brutal take on publishing should be known to more audiences, making it the perfect candidate for a film adaptation.
R. F. Kuang picks her June Hayward and Athena Liu actresses
In a clip shared by the Toronto International Film Festival’s TikTok account, Kuang revealed who she would choose to portray Hayward and Liu in a Yellowface adaptation. Her dream cast includes Sydney Sweeney as Hayward and Stephanie Hsu as Liu.
Hsu and Sweeney are two of Hollywood’s fastest-rising actresses. Hsu recently nabbed her first Academy Award nomination for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, while Sweeney has been gaining traction for her roles in Euphoria and The White Lotus. It would be fantastic to see them share the screen for the first time, and their talent and ages would be perfect for Yellowface.
The only slight concern is that Hayward was described as having brown hair and eyes in the book. Of course, actors don’t have to look exactly like their book counterparts, but Hayward’s features were an important point because she was trying to use them to look more racially ambiguous and mislead readers to believe she was partially Asian. Some commenters suggested Lucy Hale, Alexandra Daddario, or Rachel Sennot for Hayward, which are also interesting choices. Most agreed that Hsu would own the role of Liu, though.
Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any news yet of Yellowface becoming a film. However, it has so much potential to be a dark, hilarious, and thrilling satire film that Hollywood should definitely be taking an interest in it. If it does get picked up by a studio and Kuang is involved in the creative process, perhaps a Yellowface movie starring Sweeney and Hsu would be possible.
(featured image: Arturo Holmes/Getty)
