WarnerMedia is officially announcing the casting additions of actors Mark Dacascos (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum) and Chelsea Muirhead (Spare Parts) as series regulars for HBO Max martial arts action crime drama, Warrior. Both actors join a cast of new and returning actors for the upcoming ten-episode third season, led once more by series star Andrew Koji (Paramount Pictures’ Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, Sony Picutures’ upcoming Bullet Train).
Set during the violent and bloody Tong Wars of the late 19th century in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Warrior stars Koji as Ah Sahm, a Foshan martial artist whose covert arrival in search of his missing sister forces him to tread carefully between rival gangs, corrupt politicians, and an amenable police force. At the end of season two, shocking twists and stark revelations unfold in the city’s fractured backdrop, upended by racial unrest between the Chinese and the Irish, while Ah Sahm’s loyalties are further put to the test in an inflection point that will question the fate of his bond with newly-usurped Hop Wei leader, Young Jun, and imprisoned, menacing Fong Hai gang leader, Zing, plots his comeback.
With the new season underway, Dacascos will make his entrance as Kong Pak, the former leader of a newly absorbed, Long Zii-affiliated Tong, and old friend and mentor to Long Zii enforcer, Li Yong. Muirhead will star as Yan Mi, the unassuming but shrewd daughter of a local print shop maker based in Chinatown.
Also returning are Olivia Cheng as Ah Toy, Jason Tobin as Young Jun, Dianne Doan as Mai Ling, Kieran Bew as Bill O’Hara, Dean Jagger as Dylan Leary, Tom Weston-Jones as Richard Henry Lee, Hoon Lee as Wang Chao, Joe Taslim as Li Yong, Langley Kirkwood as Walter Buckley, Perry Yung as Father Jun, Chen Tang as Hong, Miranda Raison as Nellie Davenport and Dustin Nguyen as Zing; Nguyen will also direct the second and third episodes of season three.
Wednesday’s casting update comes following last week’s ceremonial start of season three production in Cape Town, South Africa, commemorating the 39th anniversary of the passing of martial arts legend, Bruce Lee; It was Lee’s own original cops – adapted by Warner Bros. TV at the time for “Kung Fu” – which served as the root inspiration for the new show’s current incarnation, as overseen by creators Justin Lin, Jonathan Tropper, and Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee.
Initially airing on Cinemax, season one premiered in April of 2019, with the network airing season two in October the following year. Tropper created and executive produced season two for Cinemax alongside Lin, with Danielle Woodrow, and Andrew Schneider for Perfect Storm Entertainment, and Lee for Bruce Lee Entertainment. Brad Kane and Richard Sharkey also exec produced with Kenneth Lin, Evan Endicott, and Josh Stoddard co-exec producing.
Both seasons are now streaming on HBO Max.
Dacascos is represented by MPG Management, Florent Lamy at Elevate Artists Paris, Todd Maginn at Global Artists, and attorney Matt Rosen at GGSSC. Muirhead is represented by Identity Agency Group, Creative Drive Artists, and Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson & Christopher.