Chloe Bennet Talks Interior Chinatown, Satirizing Stereotypes, and Why She Thinks S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Daisy Johnson Will Eventually Return

The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. alum on her new Hulu series' meta approach.

Chloe Bennet as Detective Lana Lee in Interior Chinatown

Adapted by Charles Yu from his own book, the clever and funny meta approach to the new Hulu series Interior Chinatown finds Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang) realizing he’s a background character in a Law & Order type TV procedural - a “Generic Asian Man” who's usually just a peripheral figure in a story that won’t allow him to be the lead. Soon though, Willis’ investigation into a crime he witnesses brings him into contact with Detective Lana Lee, played by Chloe Bennet. 

It’s a great role for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. veteran Bennet, as there’s a will they or won’t they throughline for Willis and Lana while the series also explores her own issues and backstory. Willis is immediately smitten with Lana, but as we soon learn, she has obstacles to overcome as well as far as stereotypes are concerned, including being considered the “Chinatown expert” by her peers based on her race, despite not having any familiarity with the area. 

The themes of the show are ones Bennet can clearly relate to, as she has spoken in the past about obstacles she’s faced as a half Chinese actress in Hollywood, including changing her last name from Wang because she knew doing so would help her chances of being cast. I spoke to Bennet about her role on Interior Chinatown and the show’s shifting perspectives, working with Taika Waititi (who directed the pilot episode), and tackling real issues of race, gender, stereotypes and tropes through a satirical lens. 

Chloe Bennet as Lana Lee and Jimmy O. Yang as Willis Wu in Interior Chinatown

And yes, having interviewed Bennet many times during her S.H.I.E.L.D. days, I had to ask about the potential to ever see Daisy Johnson AKA Skye AKA Quake again. Last year, there were a ton of rumors that Bennet was going to show up as the character in Secret Invasion, which didn't end up being true. Given how that particular series turned out, that may be for the best, but considering Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ran for seven seasons and 136 episodes and continues to have a passionate fanbase (this feels like a good place to plug my own recent appearance on the Love in the Time of Hydra podcast), it feels like there is certainly still an opportunity to see Daisy again, something Bennet told me she very much agrees with… and in fact thinks is likely inevitable.