Fire Island filmmaker Andrew Ahn modernizes the premise of Ang Lee’s 1993 classic rom-com for his new movie The Wedding Banquet, which he co-wrote with James Schamus (who helped pen the original). While the remake honors the basic synopsis of a closeted man marrying a woman in exchange for a green card, it also adds more modern issues like IVF and a second romantic pairing. The result is a heartwarming and zany hour-and-a-half of found (and sometimes literal) family and accidental love squares, anchored by Bowen Yang’s Chris, whose paralyzing indecision throws his romantic relationship and friend group into turmoil.

The Wedding Banquet also stars Star Wars‘ Kelly Marie Tran as Angela, Chris’ best friend whose partner Lee (Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon) wants to have a baby but can no longer afford IVF treatments. When Chris’ boyfriend Min (Han Gi-chan) faces an expired student visa, he proposes — and is promptly rejected thanks to Chris’ ongoing commitment issues. His choice to then propose to Angela drags his grandmother (Young Yuh-jung) out of Korea and into their home with demands for a wedding, ensuring hilarity and heartbreak for the foursome. The iconic Joan

Chen, meanwhile, plays Angela’s supportive yet overbearing mother.

ScreenRant interviewed the cast and director of The Wedding Banquet while at Sundance Film Festival, where they celebrated the world premiere of the Ang Lee remake. While Ahn and Han praised Bowen Yang’s vulnerability and comedic timing in turn, Tran gushed over the opportunity to work with Gladstone. The elder statemen of cinema, Youn and Chen, also shared how their very different personal journeys led them to accepting The Wedding Banquet‘s banquet.

Bowen Yang Is The Wedding Banquet Director Andrew Ahn’s Muse

“He’s just so vulnerable, and he gives so much of himself to the roles.”

ScreenRant: What made you want to remake The Wedding Banquet, and why was now the right time?

Andrew Ahn: So much has changed for the queer community since the original was made in 1993. We couldn’t get married, and now we can. I thought about that, and I thought about my own relationship with my partner. As someone who wants to get married, it’s this question of, “Should we? Do we really want to? What if we mess things up?”

I think that burden of choice that millennials feel is something really important to talk about. And then, it’s also just taking it to the next step of having children, since queer people can’t whoopsy daisy a baby into existence. You have to be so intentional, and so any hesitation becomes an obstacle.

These were two themes I really wanted to explore in this film, taking it into the future after the previous film and thinking about the next generation.

The Wedding Banquet flips many of the obstacles from the original movie on their head thanks to advances in society over the last several decades, but that doesn’t mean that every character has fully embraced their idenтιтy without hangups. In fact, Chris is someone whose fear of commitment seems to stem from low self-esteem, which even his ardent love for Min cannot cure.

Thanks to Saturday Night Live, Yang is best known for his over-confident and buoyant persona, but Ahn and Schamus’ screenplay takes a different tack in The Wedding Banquet. The filmmaker attributes that nuance to his own previous experience working with Yang in Fire Island, which allowed him to see the many dramatic layers that the normally comedic actor can bring to a performance.

Andrew Ahn: I love Bowen. He’s just so vulnerable, and he gives so much of himself to the roles. I think there’s something about his ability to balance heart and humor, and I don’t think he always gets to show off that range. It’s something that I think people fall in love with. He’s my muse; I love Bowen.

ScreenRant: As a connoisseur of Kdrama, I love this cast. First there’s Young Yuh-jung, my queen. But then I see Han Gi-chan, and I’m like, “What are you doing here?” How did you find him and put him in an American film?

Andrew Ahn: Yeah, I had seen some of Han Gi-chan’s work in BL series in Korea. It’s still a thing in Korea, since it’s a conservative country and not many actors want to play queer roles.

Gi-chan is such a heart-forward human. He’s like, “Yeah, this is great.” He wants to be a part of that representation, and I’m so glad that I could give him the opportunity here. Youn Yuh-jung and he have the most incredible grandmother-grandson relationship in the film, and I’m excited for people to get to see them do their thing.

Kelly Marie Tran Pᴀssionately Explains The Wedding Banquet’s Message & Campaigns For More Rose Tico

“Love can look like whatever you want it to look like.”

ScreenRant: What can you tell me about working with Lily Gladstone?

Kelly Marie Tran: Oh, my God, I’m obsessed with Lily Gladstone. She’s the most incredible actor and also the most incredible human being. She’s so kind; so open. Immediately, I felt like I could be vulnerable with her. I feel like I could take risks with her.

Also, she’s just hilarious and loves gummies. We spent the last week filming with Bowen and Gi-chan watching Couples Therapy together and eating popcorn in between takes. She’s a real one.

Angela and Lee are deeply in love at the start of The Wedding Banquet and aren’t afraid to show it, but they face challenges when it comes to fertility and the less-than-total success of IVF treatments. The fact that the remake allows for such a nuanced topic to take center stage is a testament to changing times, and Tran hopes that audiences absorb that despite discouraging policy changes and political agendas in recent weeks.

When asked how she feels about the timing of the movie’s Sundance premiere, given the anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment of the current administration, the star answered with sincerity:

Kelly Marie Tran: I hope that it conveys the humanity in the queer community, and also shows just how beautiful it is to be part of a community that does not make you feel like you have to define yourself by putting yourself in any sort of box. You can be who you are, and love can look like whatever you want it to look like.

Yeah, it’s all about being part of this community. Coming out publicly has been something that has made me feel so limitless, so I want [to pᴀss that on].

ScreenRant: I love Rose, and we recently got a Darth side of her in LEGO Star Wars. Might we see any other side of her in The New Jedi Order?

Kelly Marie Tran: I have no idea. I will say, though, that I loved being Darth Rose Tico, and that was one of the funnest things I’ve ever had to do. All of those guys that made it, they’re just incredible.

But yeah, I have no idea. Let’s ask! Because I have no idea.

The Wedding Banquet’s Han Gichan Wants To Act Alongside Cha Eunwoo – But One 1 Condition

He has previously made appearances in the Kdrama Island and Korean movie Decibel.

Han Gi-chan makes his English-language feature film debut in The Wedding Banquet, having made his mark in the Korean drama industry after starring in the very first BL (which stands for “boys’ love”) in the country. His work in Where Your Eyes Linger is what caught Ahn’s attention, in fact, and catapulted him to a starring role alongside the likes of Yang, Tran, and Gladstone.

The actor reacts humbly to his newfound success. “I feel incredible,” he gushed to ScreenRant. “It’s an incredible experience for me. I think I’m dreaming, right?”

ScreenRant: You act opposite Bowen Yang. How often did you laugh on set?

Han Gi-chan: Well, actually, Bowen has a little bit of comedic [talent] himself. Usually, he made us laugh, but we all laughed [together]. After takes, there was non-stop laughter, so I guess it’s every time!

Han actually began his public career in K-pop, appearing as a participant in the compeтιтion series Produce X101, though he did not end up debuting in the group. He is also part of the same company as the K-pop group ASTRO, and has appeared in dramas with its members – most notably a small supporting role in Prime Video’s Island with Cha Eun-woo. While he could not confirm a larger onscreen interaction in the near future, he did posit potential future roles for the two of them.

Han Gi-chan: Well, actually, you know what? I was thinking a lot about that, but a lot of people think I have a similar image with him. I really respect him, but since we have a [similar image], maybe we couldn’t be in the film together unless we act as brothers.

Joan Chen Recalls Her Personal Journey With The Wedding Banquet

The celebrated actor also shares love for one of her older movies, Saving Face.

Joan Chen is a legend in cinema, and neither is she a stranger to the kind of material present in The Wedding Banquet. In 2004, she starred in Saving Face as a mother in denial about her daughter’s Sєxuality – a stark contrast to her latest character, who is almost too enthusiastic to demonstrate her approval. The shift in characterization is a fascinating data point for the climate in which Ahn’s movie was created.

Chen also starred in Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution, making her current role in a remake of one of his earliest films rather poignant. The actor revealed what a full circle moment it was, sharing that she was originally going to be cast in the original 1993 movie before budget and scheduling made their partnership impossible. Her second sH๏τ at the same story, then, is nothing short of kismet.

Joan Chen: Well, it feels full circle because I was actually originally supposed to star in the first Wedding Banquet. He graduated from NYU and, because of his student film, he got great agents in LA. I had just arrived in LA, and somebody introduced us. I think met in some grand old house in Beverly Hills with a swimming pool.

He had the script, and he wanted me to play the part, and it was all great. But then it took him eight or nine years to get the funds together, so we didn’t get to work together. But finally we did in Lust, Caution decades later. I’m a great fan, and now finally I’m in The Wedding Banquet.

ScreenRant: One of my favorite movies of yours is Saving Face, which feels like it has similar themes to The Wedding Banquet. How does it feel to be tackling these issues decades later, and how do you think fictional media surrounding the LGBTQ+ community has grown in that time?

Joan Chen: I think it has grown by leaps and bounds. In a way, it’s a question for Andrew when making an [LGBTQ+]-themed film, what are the new issues? The issues right now are different, and I’m so happy that audiences and the general public seem to be much more enlightened, so they can embrace films like that.

I would say Saving Face, in my long career, is one of my favorite films. I really treasure that film, and I love Alice [Wu].

Youn Yuh-jung Almost Refused To Appear In The Wedding Banquet

The actor also gives an uncertain update on Pachinko season 3.

ScreenRant: Can you tell me what excited you most about the script and made you want to be part of it?

Youn Yuh-jung: You don’t mind me telling the truth exactly? Actually, I got the script from Andrew, and before that I had promised myself, “I’m not going to do the independent [movies] because of my age.” I don’t have to work that hard anymore. I’ve been in this business in Korea 50 years, so I’ve been there, here, everywhere.

I knew how to make independent movies [in Korea], but then the American experience was worse than Korean independent movies! So, I was never going to do it [again]. I didn’t even read the script, but my first son is a fan of Andrew’s, and so he asked, “Why didn’t you do it?” I asked my second son, “Should I go? You and I decided I wasn’t going to do independent movies anymore.”

He read the script, and he said, “The script is nice, Mom. You should go.” So, I said, “Okay, I’ll do it.” Never say never! I learned that lesson, so maybe I will do more independent movies.

Despite being reluctant to return to American independent cinema, Youn has been thriving on American streaming television. Pachinko is one of Apple TV’s most highly acclaimed shows, in which she plays the matriarch of an intergenerational family that migrates from Korea to Japan. Based on the best-selling novel by Min Jin Lee, the series is still only at the halfway point, but has not yet been renewed for season 3. When asked about renewal or filming updates, Young expressed her own confusion:

Youn Yuh-jung: No… They’re very secretive [people]. Nobody knows! But when I first got the offer from them, it was for 4 seasons.

More About The Wedding Banquet (2025)

Angela and her partner Lee have been unlucky with their IVF treatments, but can’t afford to pay for another round. Meanwhile, their friend Min, the closeted scion of a multinational corporate empire, has plenty of family money but a soon-to-expire student visa. When his commitment-phobic boyfriend Chris rejects his proposal, Min makes the offer to Angela instead: a green card marriage in exchange for funding Lee’s IVF. But their plans to quietly elope are upended when Min’s skeptical grandmother flies in from Kore unannounced, insisting on an all-out wedding extravaganza.

Check out more Sundance 2025 interview coverage here, including:

• John Lithgow & the Jimpa Cast & Director
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• Brides Director & Stars
• Bubble & Squeak Director & Stars
• If I Had Legs I’d Kick You Director & Stars

Source: Screen Rant Plus