Vietnamese-American filmmaker directs Disney's 'The Princess'

By Dang Khoa November 17, 2021 | 06:30 am PT

Disney picked Le Van Kiet to direct 'The Princess', an action fairytale featuring American actress Joey King as a sword-wielding royal on a quest to save her kingdom.

In an announcement, Disney described The Princess as a mixture of action movie 'John Wick' and classic animated musical fantasy "Sleeping Beauty".

It will be directed by Kiet, an action director known for his Vietnamese martial-arts movie 'Hai Phuong' (Furie), which included many fight scenes featuring a woman and received positive reviews from critics for its direction. The movie was Vietnam’s official entry at the 2020 Oscars.

Vietnamese-American filmmaker directs for Disneys The Princess

Disney announces Le Van Kiet as the director of 'The Princess'. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

The lead character will be played by Joey King who is widely known for starring in Netflix's The Kissing Booth trilogy. The 22-year-old has also received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her role in 2019 drama "The Act".

"The Princess" is a Disney+ original film produced by the company's newly acquired studio, 20th Century Fox. It will be available on streaming service Hulu in 2022.

Kiet, 42, is a Vietnamese-American who graduated from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Film and Television.